Lost
by elenam1996
Summary: Post-Watergate tape. It started with an apology and turned into a fight for someone's life. Will the time team ever be whole again?
1. Late Night Apologies

**Hi! So this is not my first fanfiction, but I have the tendency to not finish what I start. I used to publish under another name, but I can't access my account anymore** **Because I didn't want to piss you off by starting a story and never finishing it, I started writing this after the episode of the Watergate tape and waited until now to post it. It seems like a lot of people, and even the writers of Timeless, have had similar ideas, but I still stuck with the story because I wanted to give it a try anyways. The first twenty chapters are almost finished, still need a bit a polishing. But since I don't like to binge read stories and prefer the excitement of the waiting, I'll post one chapter every two or three days. It will give me time to finish the 3 or 4 chapters left that are already planned in my head.**

 **English isn't my first language so pardon my mistakes.**

 **I hope you'll enjoy!**

 **Chapter 1: Late Night Apologies**

That night, when Lucy went to sleep, she couldn't erase Wyatt's expression when he had left Mason's industry from her mind. She knew she had lost whatever trust he ever had in her. And it ached. She thought they were building something the three of them together. But whatever it was had been completely destroyed by Flynn. Just like everything else ever since she had accepted that job.

She wished Wyatt would understand. She was just afraid. She was a simple history professor who had been transformed into a federal agent over the night, chasing a dangerous time-traveler terrorist. In a blink of the eye she had gotten her mom back, lost her sister, gained a fiancé and found out the loving father she knew was never her biological father. On top of that, learning that she might be the reason why Flynn was able to do everything he does. It was too much. How could she live with herself knowing she was the reason why Rufus and Wyatt were risking their lives, why her sister had disappeared, never existed?

She choked back a sob and let a single tear run down her cheek, closing her eyes and trying to erase everything from her mind. But she wasn't able to and eventually she broke out into loud sobs. Fortunately for her, her mother was away for the month due to her work. Since she wasn't sick anymore, or had never been, the great Carolynn Preston was still doing conferences all around America.

However, the ring of the doorbell around 4 o'clock shook her out of her tears. Who could that be at that time of the night?

Lucy quickly glanced at her phone, maybe thinking it could be related to Flynn once again only to find out it was out of battery and she had forgotten to charge it. Sighing, she wiped the tears from her eyes and put on a bathrobe, before slowly making her way downstairs.

As she approached the door, she recognized Wyatt's silhouette through the glass and she sighed. Great. He was probably picking her up for yet another mission. What would change that time?

She opened the door slowly, not making eye contact with Wyatt and just told him in a quick breath, "I'll go get dress and I'll be ready in 10 minutes,"

As she was about to make her way back to her room, Wyatt caught her arm, making her stop dead in her tracks.

"I'm not here because of Flynn," he said in a whisper.

Lucy finally glanced up and saw all the conflicted emotions in his eyes, "What are you here for then?" she asked already knowing the answer.

"You know what I'm here for," he said with a sigh, "We can't let things as they are or we are never going to be able to succeed in the next mission,"

Lucy sighed, fighting the tears that were once again about to fall.

"You don't say anything?" Wyatt raised his voice.

Lucy simply looked to the floor.

Wyatt ran his hands through his hair before exploding: "Look Lucy! You had no right to hide something as huge as this to us! How could you do that? How do you want us to trust you again after this? But maybe that's the thing, maybe you were working with Flynn the whole time and you are just pretending to help us while getting him all the help he needs to change history?" Wyatt said almost yelling at her.

"STOP!" Lucy cried, "Just stop Wyatt!" she added before collapsing to the floor in a fit of sobs.

Breathing heavily, Wyatt looked at Lucy and instantly felt bad. Maybe he had been too harsh. It wasn't his attention. He just wanted to understand. That's all he ever wanted; the truth from Lucy, the truth about Jessica.

Lucy was currently kneeling on the floor, crying with her hands covering her face. Wyatt slowly knelt next to her, his anger suddenly gone, replaced with the guilt of not letting Lucy a chance.

"I'm sorry," he said softly before taking Lucy's hand from her eyes and forcing her to look at him. The pain he saw in her eyes was enough to convince him that whatever had made Lucy keep the journal from him wasn't meant to hurt him.

"I'm sorry," he repeated before pulling her in a tight embrace.

They stood like that, in the middle of Lucy's hall for several minutes until Lucy's cries stopped. Finally, she was the one to break their embrace, slowly detaching herself before wiping her tears with the back of her hands.

"Do you want tea?" she asked Wyatt with a hoarse voice.

"Yes please," he answered simply before standing up and helping Lucy to her feet. He followed her to the kitchen where she went to boil water and got out two mugs from the cupboards.

They stayed in silence until the tea was ready and then went into the living room. They sat next to each other on the sofa. The sun was starting to raise and the room was lightly illuminated by pale rays of sunshine.

"I wanted to tell you," started Lucy looking down at her tea, slowly twirling her spoon in it.

"Why didn't you?" Wyatt asked simply, much calmer than before.

"Because I was terrified," Lucy added choking back a sob.

Wyatt rested his tea on the console before taking Lucy's left hand in his, which encouraged her to continue.

"I don't want to believe that I will really write that journal because I couldn't live with myself! How am I supposed to believe that I'm going to write the journal that makes my sister disappear? That gives me an unknown fiancé? That puts you and Rufus in danger over and over again?" Lucy said finally letting all her emotions out.

"Oh Lucy," sighed Wyatt. He should have known better. It was hard for her. He had been trained to be a soldier. To put his emotions aside. To do the job. And he was still struggling at times.

She was a historian. A passionate one who put all her heart in everything she did. A woman who wasn't used to the kind of life she had recently been thrown into, losing everything she ever knew in the process. He knew she was struggling since he saw her shaking in that room in Germany. He thought stupidly that it was just the nerves from their mission and her memories of drowning, but apparently it was so much more.

"I'm sorry Wyatt. I swear that the last thing I wanted was to hurt you,"

"It's okay," he replied, suddenly forgetting everything Lucy had written, or in fact would write, about his wife. Maybe it was a different Lucy after all who had written that journal. One she would never be because of the time shifts and the new events that were happening every day. Or maybe Flynn had just said that to hurt him and to make the team fail. After all, what is more effective to stop a team than ruining their trust in each other?

"It's okay," he repeated before pulling her in an embrace once more. They stayed like that for a couple of minutes before Wyatt's phone rang, both taking them out of their thoughts.

"Sorry," said Wyatt before looking at the caller ID. "It's agent Christopher," he stated before answering the call. Lucy stayed close next to him, knowing that it was probably because of Flynn that they were being called.

"Lucy and I will be there in 20 minutes," said Wyatt before ending the call.

Lucy looked at him expectantly; "Flynn took out the mothership, they don't know yet where he is headed, but they should know by the time we arrive there," he said.

"Okay, I'll go get changed and I'll join you shortly," said Lucy.

"Come on Lucy, I'll give you a ride," said Wyatt with a half-smile.

"Oh, I don't want to make you wait, really, "answered Lucy.

"I don't mind, I'll wait for you here," he added sitting on the sofa to clearly make his point.

"Okay, thank you," said Lucy before heading upstairs to get ready for yet another mission.


	2. A New Mission

**Hi! So here is chapter 2! Like I said before, this takes place after the Watergate episode so any other mission after that never happened.**

 **I hope you enjoy**

 **Chapter 2: A New Mission**

Lucy and Wyatt arrived together half an hour later at Mason's industry. Rufus was already there, talking animatedly with Jiya.

When he spotted his colleagues, a broad mischievous smile graced his features, "I heard two people were together at 5 AM this morning," said Rufus on a sing-song voice.

Lucy blushed a dark shade of crimson while Wyatt's face turned white," How do you know that?" he asked.

Rufus simply exchanged a knowing glance with Jiya.

"You know what, never mind, it's not what you think anyway," said Wyatt trying to regain his composure.

"Oh no? And what am I thinking," added Rufus with a joking tone.

"I went to Lucy's house to say sorry, I couldn't sleep. And I want to apologize to you too for, you know," said Wyatt not wanting to talk about Rittenhouse and the fact that he and Lucy now knew they were being recorded by Rufus, in case anyone was listening.

Rufus eyes showed understanding and he simply patted Wyatt on the shoulder, "Thank you Wyatt, and I'm sorry again,"

"All right people! We have a date!" said Jiya cutting them off as she noticed an alert on her computer, alerting agent Christopher and Mason in the process.

"October 20 1929, New-York," she stated.

"Oh my god," gasped Lucy,

"What?" asked Mason,

"Weren't you listening in history Mr Mason," asked Agent Cristopher.

"It's four days before the black Thursday!" said Lucy with a panic voice,

"Isn't it black Friday?" asked Mason still clueless about what was happening,

Wyatt rolled his eyes. He wasn't a history buff like Lucy, but still, he paid some attention in high school and knew the basic things about the history of his country.

"We aren't talking about sales at Macys Mr Mason," said Agent Christopher with a voice full of exasperation.

"In 1929, there was the Krach, you know, the big crisis with the New-York Stock Exchange," added Lucy not believing how people could be clueless sometimes.

"Yeah! I remember!" finally said Mason.

"Anyway, why would Flynn alter that? It was already a big catastrophe as it was, wasn't it?" asked Wyatt

"Yeah… I mean it took years for America to get over it, and it wasn't really a problem solved until World War II!" said Lucy half lost in thoughts and trying to understand what was so important to Flynn in that period of time.

"I don't see the point for Flynn to alter that time line if he wants to hurt America?" said Agent Christopher really confused.

"Maybe he wants to prevent it?" suggested Rufus.

"Why would he do such a hero act?" asked Mason before Lucy gasped.

"No, Rufus is right! The Krach fueled a lot of improvements, not only in America but all over the world. It changed the whole system and it is what prevented us from suffering of a much worse economic crisis pretty recently! If Flynn saves that day, who knows what could change! And with the Krach came the New Deal and the first time the government acted to help his citizens with social laws and everything. It took this to improve the services given to the Americans. If it doesn't happen, a hell lot could happen later on!" finished Lucy in a breath.

"Okay people, let's not lose any more time," said Agent Christopher, "We'll get the lifeboat ready, now go get changed," she added motioning towards the wardrobe and the three time travelers followed her order.

Lucy inwardly smiled at the idea of dressing up in 1920's clothes. She knew that the reason why she was putting on those clothes was extremely serious and nowhere near fun, but the 20's fashion had always fascinated her. She sometimes wished people were still wearing flapper dresses and long pearls necklaces. She picked one of a pale shade of pink that she immediately fell in love with and put it on with hidden joy.

The part Wyatt hated the most about their missions was the stupid dressing up. He hated to put on some ridiculous pieces of clothing from the past. High socks and straps were a nightmare for him. People from other eras certainly didn't know anything about comfort!

However, that day, when he saw Lucy coming out in a mid-caves pink dress, he suddenly forgot why he always hated to put on costumes. She was absolutely stunning in her 1920's dress. And he could tell from the way she was trying to hide her smile that she was also really pleased to have the opportunity to wear such an attire.

"Wow, you really look great Lucy," he said with a breath.

"Thank you," replied Lucy looking down at the floor, blushing.

"Come on you two, let's go," said Rufus coldly passing by Lucy and Wyatt.

"Why are you such in a bad mood?" Wyatt shouted at his colleague who was getting into the lifeboat already.

Rufus simply turned towards Wyatt with a look of pure disbelief and motioned at his legs with huge movements; "White pants! Haven't you noticed? I'm wearing freaking white pants!" Rufus said with despair. "I look stupid!" he stated once more before getting into the lifeboat for good.

Lucy and Wyatt looked at each other and puffed. They could always count on Rufus to entertain their journeys!

Wyatt hoped into the lifeboat right after Rufus and then helped Lucy into it.

He sat and buckled himself in, before noticing that once again Lucy had trouble with her restraints. He chuckled softly before bending over to help her.

Lucy let out a small chuckle as she saw Wyatt trying to buckle her in, "I'm sorry, I can never get to handle these!" she said with a guilty smile.

"No worries, I'm here for it Ma'am," replied Wyatt with a wink before double checking Lucy's restraints were well fixed.

"All set you two?" asked Rufus from his pilot seat with still a hint of exasperation in his voice.

"Let's go!" said Wyatt before closing his eyes and holding on his restraints as the vertigo from time travel enveloped him.


	3. 1929, New-York

**Hi! So I would like to thank you for the kind reviews! It really pleases me that you enjoy my story. Here is chapter 3, where the real story begins!**

 **Feel free to review!**

 **Chapter 3: 1929, New-York**

"So, where are we heading?" Rufus asked on a jovial tone signaling that he had gone over the fact that he was wearing white pants.

"Well, I'm not an expert, but I'd guess that if I wanted to prevent the Krach, the best place to do so would be in financial district," said Wyatt looking at Lucy for approval.

"I'd do the same," replied Lucy with a nod of the head, "Although I can't figure what Flynn is going to try and how on earth he could succeed since it's not something that happened over the night! The whole banking system is at the source of this crisis" she stated, mind buzzing, thinking about all the possibilities and not finding one plausible.

"Anyway, we're about to find out," said Wyatt before hailing a taxi for the small group.

"You know one thing I like about 1929?" asked Rufus when they were all sitting in the vintage, but actually new, car.

"No Rufus, what do you like?" asked Wyatt chuckling, knowing that once again their friend was about to say something hilarious.

"C-A-R-S!" he said putting emphasis on every letter and making huge gestures, "No mud roads like in 1836's Texas or stupid pooping horses like in 1865's Washington!" he added to make his point.

Lucy and Wyatt laughed at his comments.

"I'm afraid pal that you're a little too young to have seen those times," stated the taxi driver from the front seat, with a bit of an Irish accent.

The trio looked at each other with knowing smiles, "I know, I was thinking about some stories my grandfather told me," replied Rufus with a hidden smile. If people only knew everything he had seen in the last couple of weeks. Even him couldn't comprehend it sometimes!

"All right, here's your stop: Wall Street," said the taxi driver a few minutes later, stopping his car right next to the iconic Federal Hall.

Wyatt paid the taxi driver with money Agent Christopher had provided them before turning to his colleagues, "Ok, how do we proceed?" he asked.

"Well, we could all split and look out for Flynn? If you find him Wyatt, take care of him, but if it's Lucy or me, we'll try to get to know what he plans to do before coming and getting you?" suggested Rufus.

"All right, we could meet here in let's say, two hours?" asked Lucy.

The three friends all agreed before heading in their separated ways.

* * *

Lucy really enjoyed, shamefully, her time walking down the streets and wandering the lobbies of the 1929's New-York buildings. It was just like she had always imagined. She sometimes felt guilty for enjoying so much her missions while America's future was at stake. But she couldn't stop herself! She had spent years studying all that stuff, imagining it, writing essays about it. Now she could see it for herself and the reality was so much better. She was taking everything in and just hoped that she could share all of it with her mother. She would have been delighted to have such an opportunity.

However, Lucy was taken out of her reverie when, by passing by a dark alley, she felt arms encircle her waist while she was brutally tugged in the side street. Her assailant also put a hand over her mouth to prevent her from screaming. Anyway, no one would have heard her since she had been strolling down an almost desert street. Not such a good idea, she was now realizing it.

"Well, well," said a voice she knew too well as Flynn appeared in front of her while one of his ally was still holding her tight.

"Little Miss Preston all alone on the dangerous streets of New-York," said Flynn with a sick smile.

"Sgt Logan is certainly not doing a good job isn't he?" he added, "After his wife, his colleague is going to disappear because once again he let a woman wander by herself," he chuckled.

At his words Lucy tried desperately to get out of Flynn's man hands. Even though she knew she'd never succeed, she still tried. She didn't want to die! Not today, not in that place!

"Stop wriggling Miss Preston," said Flynn approaching her as Lucy closed her eyes to stop the tears that threaten to fall. He got a needle from his pocket and before Lucy had time to register anything, plunged it into her neck and the whole world went black.

* * *

Rufus was starting to get frustrated. He had been walking for nearly two hours and no sign of Flynn, Anthony, or any other of Flynn's men. Where could they be? Rufus had entered any building he could, looked every corner, asked everyone who dared to answer him, a black man, and yet no sign of Flynn. He looked at his watch and decided it was well time to go back to Federal Hall in case Lucy or Wyatt had had better luck and found something.

* * *

Wyatt was the first back at Federal Hall. He sat on the marble stairs in front of the building while waiting for Rufus and Lucy. He had not seen Flynn or any of his men once in two hours. It felt weird. They never needed that much time to find out what Flynn was up to. It was usually much quicker. Wyatt had a bad feeling. If Flynn was hiding he was probably preparing something huge. Wyatt just hoped that they'd find out before it was too late.

"Hey!" said Rufus as he sat next to Wyatt, "Did you have any luck?" he asked.

Wyatt shook his head, "Nah… I haven't seen anyone in two hours" he sighed.

Rufus kicked a rock in frustration, "Damn, I hope Lucy has some sort of plan otherwise we are going to really screw that mission!" he said rubbing at his neck.

But Lucy didn't show up. After 15 minutes they simply thought she was late. After 30 minutes Wyatt started pacing. After 45 minutes, they knew something was wrong.

"Where are you Lucy?" Wyatt whispered to himself.

"Wyatt, something's seriously wrong," stated Rufus looking at his watch.

"I know," he replied running his hands through his hair, "We shouldn't have gone on our separated ways. We're in 1929 for god's sake! There's no cellphone, no GPS, no way of finding where Lucy's gone!" he added in frustration.

They were supposed to meet almost an hour ago and still no sign of Lucy. Wyatt really had a bad feeling. They didn't know each other for that long, but he knew that she had never been late anywhere ever since they met. Something must have happened to keep her so long.

"What do you think happened?" Rufus asked.

"I don't know," he sighed, images flooding his mind; Lucy lost in the streets of New-York, Lucy hit by a car, Lucy attacked by 1929's criminal, Lucy hurt by one of Flynn's men. At those thoughts he almost felt like he was going to be sick. He had to find Lucy. He had grown especially protective of the young historian in the last couple of weeks. Hell! He had been hired to protect her among other things and he was failing miserably.

"Do you think it's Flynn?" Rufus asked.

"It could be, but it also could be an accident, or maybe she's just lost," said Wyatt, not really believing his last two suggestions.

"Listen, there's a special communicating system in the lifeboat we can use to contact Agent Christopher in 2016," began Rufus, "Maybe she'll know what to do?" he suggested.

"Yeah, but I don't like the idea of leaving Federal Hall, in case she's just late," said Wyatt looking around, as if he'd see Lucy coming towards them, apologizing for being late.

"All right, I can make a quick trip to the lifeboat and I'll come back as soon as possible. Wait here in case Lucy arrives," said Rufus before hailing another taxi.

As Rufus' taxi disappeared in the 1929 New-York's non-existent traffic, Wyatt sat on the stairs, taking his head in his hands. How come he failed so miserably every time he had something to do? He had abandoned his teammates back in Syria, had abandoned Jessica on the side of the road where she was killed, had abandoned Lucy in the streets of New-York and now she was nowhere to be seen!

He knew he wasn't to blame for everything, but still. A small voice inside his head kept telling him it was his fault. He didn't want to give up too soon, but he knew, he had a feeling, that what had happened was bad, and had probably something to do with Flynn. The man had tried to take him out on the last mission, but Rufus and Lucy had found him. Maybe he thought that they'd be less successful without Lucy?

He just hoped that son of a bitch wouldn't hurt her. If he was honest, he had to admit that he felt something for Lucy. He didn't love her or anything, no, they had just met a couple of weeks ago. But ever since she had reached out to him at the Alamo, he felt some sort of strong feelings when he was with her. In that moment, he didn't come back to save his life, he came back because Lucy told him she needed him and he didn't want to let her down. He felt the urge to protect her and wanted to make her feel safe. He always had been that way with his colleagues on every missions. But with Lucy, it was another level. It wasn't just an order he was following by protecting her, it was something he wanted to do, he needed to do. Imagining her hurt was the worst thing he could think of and somehow that scared Wyatt. Because the only other person who ever made him feel that way was Jessica. And he couldn't be falling for someone else, could he?

He kept thinking like that for an hour or so, still scanning the crowd in case he'd see Lucy or Flynn. No luck. Rufus finally came back and by the look he had on his face, Wyatt immediately knew it was bad.

"I talked to Cristopher," he began, "They were trying to reach us too…" he trailed off not knowing how to say it, "Apparently they received a message from Flynn. This mission was a lure, he just wanted one thing,"

"Lucy," said Wyatt cutting him off.

"Yeah," confirmed Rufus, looking down at the floor.

"What did he do to her?" Wyatt asked closing his fists tightly to try to contain his anger.

"He just said that if we wanted to see her again we'd have to let him do what he wants next time and not try to stop him" Rufus said, "He's back in 2016, probably preparing for his real mission, Christopher says to go back too,"

"How do we know he hasn't hurt her yet?" Wyatt asked.

"He sent a picture. Lucy was unconscious but didn't seem hurt. Probably drugged her or something," the pilot replied.

Wyatt felt an immense weight being lifted off his shoulder. At least Lucy wasn't hurt! That would let them time to figure out how to get her back as soon as possible.

"Hold on Lucy, we're coming for you," thought Wyatt as they hailed yet another taxi to get back to the lifeboat.


	4. Where is Lucy?

**Hi! So thank you again for the kind reviews! I know a lot of stories out there are similar to mine, but I'm glad that you like my version. I just want to remind you that I wrote that after the Watergate episode, so it is possible that it doesn't always fit with how we've seen the characters evolve since the beginning of the show. You can consider it completely AU.**

 **I would also like to clarify something. Someone asked me what was the "krach" and if I meant the "crash" since it was confusing. French is my first language and we call it the krach instead of the crash. I thought it was the same in English, I'm sorry. But yes, I was talking about the 1929 new-york crash in the last chapter. I'm sorry for the mistake and the confusion.**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 4: Where's Lucy?**

"Have you gotten any news?" asked Wyatt to Connor Mason and Agent Cristopher as soon as the door of the lifeboat opened, unbuckling himself as fast as he could.

"Nothing, only that picture we received along with Flynn's message an hour or so ago," answered the agent with a shake of the head.

"Damn," cursed Wyatt tightening his fists together as he jumped out of the lifeboat.

"Hey, we're gonna find her," said Rufus jumping behind him and putting a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I know… I just…" he trailed off looking down at the floor, not knowing how to explain what he was feeling.

"Can I see the picture?" asked Wyatt after a moment of silence, looking expectantly between agent Christopher and Connor Mason.

"Are you sure you want to see it Sgt Logan?" asked agent Cristopher. It wasn't unknown to her that the young man seemed to care more than he dared to admit about Miss Preston and she didn't want to upset him more than he already was. She needed him fully concentrated in order to find Lucy as soon as possible.

"I… I need to make sure she's not hurt myself," he replied with pleading eyes and she had no other choice that to give in to his request.

"All right," sighed Cristopher, come with me.

She guided him towards Jiya's computer who gave him a supportive tap on the shoulder before letting him alone.

He sat on her chair in front of the screen and agent Cristopher opened a file for him; Lucy's picture.

She really didn't seem hurt, but that didn't make it okay. She was unconscious, hands bound behind her back, legs bound together and she laid on a cold hard concrete floor. She wasn't exactly hurt, but Wyatt wasn't about to say that Flynn was taking good care of her either!

Subconsciously, Wyatt ran his hand on the screen, as if it would give Lucy some strength. His gesture wasn't unnoticed by agent Christopher who simply gave him a sad smile before once again reassuring him that they'd find her.

* * *

When Lucy woke up it took her time to register where she was. At first she thought she had drink too much, which really didn't happen often. Her head was pounding, her throat was dry and she felt nauseous. Had she went out for drinks after a mission with the boys? However, as she wanted to move away from her face a stray of hair that was blurring her vision, she realized her hands were bound behind her back and that her right arm, on which she was laying, was completely numb.

In a flash, the events of the previous hours came back to her and she started panicking. She didn't know where she was, she couldn't move her arms or legs and she was completely at Flynn's mercy. With great effort and some failed attempts, she managed to sit down, arms and legs still bound and looked around trying to figure a way out. She was in a concrete room with no windows. Only a metal door that she could barely make out in the darkness of the room. As Lucy realized she was trapped, she felt like the walls were closing on her and that she couldn't breathe. Her mind was back in that damn sinking car. She needed to get out, soon, before she'd lose consciousness again from hyperventilation.

Among all the thoughts that flashed in Lucy's clouded mind, principally images of a car filling in with water, one in particular stuck out; Wyatt's speech in Germany when she had told him about her near drowning experience. She closed her eyes tightly and tried to concentrate on what he had said then. She imagined him with her in the room, telling her to take deep breaths. It helped her take a couple of slower shaky breaths until she calmed herself.

After a couple of minutes, Lucy was able to open her eyes. The walls still felt too close for her liking, but at least she was able to think properly. But she didn't had a lot of time to think before she got some company.

"Look who woke up!" said a voice she hated as the door, to what she had to call her cell, opened.

Lucy simply looked down at the floor, not wanting to answer Flynn.

Flynn bent on his knees besides her to remove the hair that was bothering her moments before, "Here, you'll see better like that," he said and Lucy shuddered at his cold touch.

"What do you want from me?" Lucy finally asked with venom in her voice.

Flynn chuckled, "Oh, you found your voice back!" he said with a laugh, "Well it's simple Lucy, I want you out of the picture. Your little time team keeps ruining my plans over and over again! I'm really tired of it! I tried to take out your friend Wyatt last week, but you still found a way of screwing everything up! He might be holding the gun, but without you they are screwed!" he said through clenched teeth.

"Anyway, their chase to find you will distract them while I'll finally have time to accomplish what I want to!" he added proudly, "Isn't it a brilliant plan?" he asked tilting Lucy's chin up so she had no other choice than to look at him.

Lucy's eyes were full of fire, "My team will find me," she said with conviction, "And after that we're gonna stop you for good!"

She was interrupted by a slap on the cheek, which was so hard that her head bumped on the wall behind her, making her gasp in surprise and pain. She could see stars before her eyes and felt like she was going to be sick.

"I hope the bruise will be enough to convince your friends to stay away!" Flynn spat before leaving the room as Lucy tried to regain her composure. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want to give him that satisfaction. She hated to be a freaking damsel in distress! When she was young, her father used to tell her princess stories before bed and Lucy always envisioned that if she was to be in any of the situations those princesses were, she wouldn't wait for the prince to come and find her. She'd be able to escape just fine on her own. But when put in the situation, Lucy didn't know how on earth she could save herself since she was terrified.

Her head hurt, she felt nauseous, her arms hurt from that unnatural position they were in since god knows when and there was absolutely nothing she could use to help her break out of the concrete room that felt like it was crushing her.

She just hoped Rufus and Wyatt would find her soon enough.


	5. The New Historian

**Here is chapter 5! Thank you to the people who review! It makes me want to write more!**

 **Chapter 5: A New Historian**

"Okay, so we found another historian," began Connor Mason, standing in front of the conference room where he had gathered everyone who worked with the lifeboat, from Rufus and Wyatt themselves to the technicians like Jiya.

Before he had time to add anything else, Wyatt, who sat in the front seat around the table, just next to Mason, was on his feet, ready to jump at his boss's throat.

"Woah, woah, calm down Wyatt," said Rufus taking him by the elbow and stopping him from doing anything he might regret.

"How on earth can you already have Lucy replaced?" Wyatt almost screamed.

"We didn't replace her, Sgt Logan," interfered agent Christopher, "We just don't think it is safe for you to go on other missions without someone who knows what can and cannot be changed in history," she explained.

"You want us to go on other missions?" said Wyatt with disbelief, looking at his bosses like they were crazy, "How can we go when we still have to find Lucy?"

"Wyatt, you know as much as I do that the only plausible way to find Lucy is to go after Flynn. It is really unlikely that we'll find her here since the technicians haven't been able to track the mothership in the present" she added with a small smile, showing him she understood it was hard. As much as it broke Denise Christopher's heart to see Wyatt that way, she knew she had to force him to participate in the mission. He was good at his job and even though he hadn't caught Flynn yet, his team was always able to get back to safety. Plus, it was out of the question to trust a new soldier with a mission as important as finding Lucy.

"But what if he hurts her? What if we stop Flynn but he still escapes and takes it out on her? I'll never forgive myself!" said Wyatt shaking his head. He couldn't believe what they were asking. Going on other missions while Lucy was somewhere, alone with Flynn and several of his men. They had to save her first, they would protect history after!

"She's right Wyatt. We have to try. What if Flynn changes the whole history and Lucy doesn't even exist when we come back huh? Wouldn't it be worst?" Rufus asked staring at Wyatt, knowing exactly what to say to get his trust.

Wyatt looked at him in silence for several seconds, weighing his options in his head. But in the end he knew that Rufus was right. What if Flynn brought Lucy with him? He would forever regret it if he learned he had missed a chance to get her back. They had to try, it was their only option. "All right, but he better not touch a single of Lucy's hair!" said Wyatt before walking to the door, ready to meet that new historian.

The girl they had chosen for the job, who Wyatt would never be caught calling her Lucy's replacement, was nicer than what he had imagined. She was a colleague of Lucy's at the university and it was clear that she really cared for her friend. She was probably around their age, in her early thirties. To say she was shocked to learn what her colleague had been working on the last couple of weeks was an understatement. It took everything for her to believe what was happening, including showing her Lucy's picture sent by Flynn. At least, after coming over the fact that she had just learned time travel was real, the young woman seemed quite determined to help in every way she could to get her friend back.

They taught her the basics about time travel, but there wasn't much to teach since they were still learning as things went by. The new historian, Anna, seemed really interested and she reminded Wyatt a bit of Lucy in the way her eyes lit up whenever they talked about what eras they had the "chance" to visit.

"So I think the worst one was definitely the Alamo," said Rufus with a shake of the head as he remembered how close it had been. The hotness of the desert, the small fort, sand everywhere, crying kinds, the sound of guns and so many great men who had died defending their land and honour. Just like Wyatt would have if Lucy hadn't saved him.

"Yeah, if it hadn't been for Lucy, I'd probably would have died there," added Wyatt, lost deep in thought as he once again thought about how Lucy had done the in-expectable, reached him when he was lost.

"You seem to be quite close to Lucy," said Anna, eyeing Wyatt sceptically, "Would you somehow be responsible of why Lucy and Noah are on a break just after they got engaged?" she asked, pointing an accusing finger at the soldier.

Rufus and Wyatt looked at each other helplessly and then at agent Christopher who simply nodded, giving them the authorization to say everything. If they were going to work with that girl, she had to know what she was getting into.

"Anna, what you must understand is that what we do is dangerous. One simple change in history can change a whole lot later on. When we left for our first mission, Lucy had a sister named Amy, she was single and was taking care of her terminal-ill mother. When we came back she was an only child with a healthy mother and an estranged fiancé," Wyatt explained as Anna gasped.

"Oh my god! Poor Lucy! It must be horrible. What changed to cause this?" she asked.

"Apparently, instead of marrying her mother, her father married someone that was saved on the Hindenburg, our first mission. And the thing is, if Lucy still exists it's because her father was never her biological father in the first place," explained Rufus.

"My god… This is so weird. Like I really need to trust you otherwise you could fool me easily. I don't remember any of what you are telling me, and yet I always spend girl's nights with Lucy, she's my best friend. And now I feel like I don't know her at all." said Anna in disbelief.

"That is why it is so important to have an historian on those missions," interfered agent Christopher, "When Lucy, Wyatt and Rufus come back, we don't know what changed. We just remember history as it has been changed by Garcia Flynn. The only people to know about it are the three of them who went in the past," she added.

"Wow, are you sure I'm fit for the job?" asked Anna, suddenly fearing it might be a little too overwhelming.

"You are the best we could find Miss Green," replied Mason, "We hope we can count on you to help Wyatt and Rufus in finding Lucy," he added.

"I'll do my best," she answered with a sigh, shaking her head in disbelief.

* * *

Lucy didn't know how long it had been since she had been kidnapped by Flynn. Hours? Days? She couldn't tell. The room was in the complete dark all the time and she didn't know how long she had been out, or how long it had been since Flynn last came to talk to her. Her cheek still throbbed where he had slapped her and she knew there must have been a bruise forming.

She wondered if Rufus and Wyatt were worried about her. If they were still trapped in 1929 or if they had come back to 2016. Hell! She didn't even know in what era she was! Flynn could easily have been keeping her in the twenties, or he could have moved her to 1880 for all she knew! There was no way for her to tell since all she could see was the four walls of the cell he had locker her in. So how Wyatt and Rufus could possibly find her? Where they even trying or they had moved on with their lives? After all, Lucy felt like she had grown quite close to her two colleagues, but they still didn't know each other for that long. Maybe they didn't feel the same way. But she had to think they did if she wanted to stay hopeful.

She tried to think about all the moments she shared with her team to convince herself that they were going to try saving her, after all they went through together; their first mission with the Hidenburg, seeing Rufus' courage and learning about Wyatt's deceased wife, the second mission with Lincoln, how Wyatt had comforted her after she saw the president being shot by Flynn just in front of her eyes, their trip to Las Vegas, trying to stop Flynn from stilling a nuke, Germany, where Wyatt had made her feel safe more than ever.

She loved the way Wyatt made her feel safe. Wherever they had been, she had had many reasons to feel terrified but, somehow, knowing that Wyatt was there, especially after their talk in Germany, she felt like someone had her back, that someone cared. She knew it was stupid to fall for the grieving guy. But she still had. He was caring and he buckled her in and he gave her winks and half-smiles… She really wished Wyatt could be there right then and tell her everything would be fine.

The current timeline apart, she had never really had a real relationship. Sure, there were some dates and kisses, and a one-year boyfriend in college, but it never lasted. Between taking care of her mother and trying to gain tenure at the university, Lucy had never let herself time to fully commit to a relationship. However, ever since meeting Wyatt and learning that in another timeline she had a fiancé, she was finding herself thinking more and more everyday about what she wanted in life. And somehow spending time with Wyatt made her wonder how it would be to share her life with someone. She had to admit that when she let her mind think about such possibilities, Wyatt was always present. He had become an important part in her life and she was quickly realizing just how much she cared for him.

"Ah Lucy! Still awake?" laughed Flynn as he entered her cell, cutting Lucy out of her day dreams.

Lucy kept quiet and looked down at the floor. She had decided she wasn't going to waste her words on a person like him.

"Not talking to me heh?" he said before crouching to her level, "Is it because of that bruise?" he asked running his fingers along her jaw as Lucy tried to get away from his touch.

He chuckled, "Since you've been a good girl, I've decided that I'll unbind you. Anyway, where do you want to go?" joked Flynn as he looked around, "No windows, a single metal door, and one of my armed men guarding it. I don't think you're in the position to try anything," he said with a wink before cutting Lucy's restraints.

As soon as her arms were free, Lucy brought her hands in front of her and rubbed her wrists who were dark red and bleeding a little from the rope that had been tightened so tightly around them.

"So I'm gonna go now, I'll let you with Chuck," he said pointing to one of his men. He was tall and really built, plus he held a gun in his hand and had another one on his belt. He gave Lucy a sick smile before crossing his arms.

"I have another mission to accomplish," Flynn explained, "I hope your little friends don't try to stop me, otherwise we might send them other pictures, and this time you won't look as peaceful as in the previous one. I don't think Sgt Logan will like it won't he?" he threatened before leaving Lucy alone once again and locking the door.

Lucy let out a small cry when the door closed. She really didn't know how on earth she was going to get out of there!


	6. September 6th 1901

**Hello everyone! Here is chapter 6! Sorry it took more time to update, I wanted to do some polishing before posting it.**

 **I hope you enjoy and please leave a review!**

 **Chapter 6: September 6th 1901**

"Guys! Flynn's on the move!" screamed Jiya from her desk as the red light indicating the mothership's every move started flashing next to her.

"You ready for your first mission?" Wyatt nervously asked Anna as he started walking towards Jiya's desk, impatient to finally have a chance to learn more about where Lucy was.

Anna simply nodded, too shocked to say anything, her heart racing in anticipation. "I guess…" she finally managed to say, wondering how Lucy went on all those missions without being scared out of her mind.

"Where is he headed?" agent Cristopher asked as soon as she joined them, bending over Jiya's desk to look at the computer's screen.

"Somewhere near Buffalo," said Jiya, scrolling down the information on her computer, "September 5th 1901" she added as she read the encrypted signals sent by the mothership's tracker.

"Do you know what happened that day?" Wyatt asked to Anna.

"Yeah… Well, almost. President McKinley was shot the next day at the Temple of Music during the Pan-American exposition. He died a couple of days later of infection," she answered shortly, showing just how much a great choice she was. Just like Lucy, she knew everything there was to know about the American history.

"Any idea why Flynn would want to go there?" Christopher asked, turning to Anna.

"Well, after McKinley died, Roosevelt replaced him. Maybe he thinks that if Roosevelt never becomes president it could change something in America's history?" she suggested.

"So we have to make sure William McKinley gets assassinated?" said Wyatt, "How great!" he added sarcastically. He knew that it was history and how things were supposed to happen and everything, but he still had difficulties letting people die when he knew he could do something to stop it. Kate Drummond, Lincoln, those soldiers at the Alamo, all great people who didn't deserve to die the way they did, just like Jessica. But he also knew just how much more dangerous it was to change history. They had seen it first hand with Lucy's sister being erased from history, no one knowing she ever existed except Lucy, Rufus and himself.

"I know you don't like to let innocent people die Sgt Logan," said Agent Christopher as if she'd heard his thoughts, "But, we have to keep history intact! We can't risk you coming back to a completely destroyed America,"

"I know," he sighed, "I'll just miss Lucy on that trip. She's usually the one who helps me accept that it is for the best," he said with a sad smile.

"We'll get her back Wyatt, I promise," she said with a look of pure conviction that gave Wyatt some strength.

"Thank you," he said quietly before making his way to the wardrobe, Rufus and Anna following closely behind.

"Wow!" said Anna as she stepped inside the small space transformed into a costume department. Rows and rows of vintage clothing sorted by date and countries were lined up in front of eyes "Lucy must love it! She always had a thing for the 1900's fashion!" she said with a look of awe.

"Yeah, she looked really great in her last dress," Wyatt said, lost in his thoughts of the last time he had seen Lucy in front of Federal Hall, in her pale pink dress, a smile of pure joy on her face as she was taking in the vibe of 1929's New-York financial district. Where was she right now? With Flynn in 1901? Held prisoner in 2016? Still in 1929? He had no way of knowing and that was killing him.

Anna appeared next to Wyatt, a 1901 blue dress in her hands; "So, seriously, if I try to understand that Lucy doesn't even know who Noah is, I can ask you this, are you together or what?" she asked putting a hand on her hips and eyeing Wyatt suspiciously.

Wyatt was taken by surprise, "What? No… Why would you believe such a thing?" he replied trying to hide his discomfort at the question by roaming through the racks and picking up random pieces of clothing. He didn't know yet what he felt for Lucy so he wasn't about to talk openly about his feelings with a stranger.

"Come on, you can tell me! Nothing will shock me more that learning about time travel!" she said with a wink.

Wyatt sighed, "All right, let's just say that I find myself really worried when I think of her and I realized that I care more than I want to admit it. Satisfied?" he asked while picking an outfit and going into a changing cabin after giving Anna a sad smile.

* * *

"I hate that freaking huge lifeboat that we can't park anywhere except in the middle of freaking nowhere, a hundred miles away from civilisation," cursed Rufus as he got out of the lifeboat and took in the scene: an empty forest full of bugs, as always.

"You okay?" he asked Anna as he saw her on her knees in the grass, trying to catch her breath and not to vomit.

"I just need a minute," she said as she closed her eyes, hoping the world would stop spinning.

"How can Lucy do this?" she asked after a couple of minutes, "She hates anything that looks like a roller coaster and actually never went to an amusement park voluntarily. She went that one time when we did a staff party, only because we begged her, and she finally spent the whole day walking around and keeping our bags," she added while standing to her feet wobbly.

"Lucy's pretty impressive. She's done a lot of things she had never done on our missions," Wyatt explained while looking around to figure where they should head.

Anna and Rufus exchanged a knowing glance while he wasn't looking.

"Okay, so where should we go first?" asked Rufus.

"Well, it's around 10 AM and McKinley was assassinated by Leon Czolgosz around 4 PM technically tomorrow. The thing is, I remember learning that he wanted to assassinate him the 5th at first, during a speech he's going to give, but Czolgosz feared he might fail. He waited the next day to kill him while he was shaking his hand," explained Anna.

"Flynn's probably going to convince him to try today. That way he'll fail and get arrested. McKinley will live and Roosevelt won't become president," said Wyatt to show he understood what Anna was implying.

Rufus sighed "Great, let me guess, we're gonna go in the city, you're going to be brother and sister or husband and wife and I'm going to be your servant. Than we're going to try to find that Sogoz,"

"Czolgosz" Anna cut him off and Rufus glared at her.

"Czolgosz" he repeated, "And convince him that we're some sorts of anarchists who want McKinley dead and that he should try tomorrow and not today. All of it without being killed by Flynn or arrested by the 1900's police?" he added.

"And finding Lucy! You got it right," said Wyatt patting him on the shoulder.

"Man we live weird lives," Rufus mumbled to himself before following his two colleagues who were already walking down the road.

As they approached near Buffalo Wyatt was starting to wonder how they were going to find Czolgosz and Lucy. He didn't want the team to separate that time, since it had gone oh so well in 1929!

"Do you have any idea of how we're going to find that Czolgosz?" Wyatt asked Anna.

"If I remember correctly, he was staying at Nowak's hotel a couple of days prior to the assassination," she answered in a know-it-all manner that reminded him yet again of Lucy.

"How do we find that hotel?" asked Rufus.

"It's simple! We ask people!" said Anna happily.

"She's clearly on the first mission high and everything," Rufus whispered at Wyatt when Anna wasn't looking at them.

"I know, remember how Lucy was? For them it's like their dream coming to reality, seeing everything in real life," replied Wyatt.

"I just hope she won't snap after she realizes that guns are part of the job," Rufus said and Wyatt simply nodded.

They asked a couple of persons where to find the Nowak's hotel until one of them finally knew where it was. Only 15 minutes of walk from where they were.

When they arrived at the hotel. It took only a couple of minutes for Anna to identify Czolgosz. The soon to be murderer was drinking whiskey at the hotel bar. He looked nervous and his hand was shaking whenever he was bringing his drink to his lips. Probably from the nerves of what he was about to do. Wyatt volunteered to go talk to the man. Well, he didn't really had a choice. Black men and women weren't exactly convincing in that century, much to Anna and Rufus' displeasure.

"Czolgosz?" Wyatt asked as he sat next to the man.

The later only glanced at him briefly before taking another shaky sip of his whiskey.

"Tom Hanks," said Wyatt, presenting himself with the first name that flashed in his head. God they needed to start working on aliases. Inventing celebrities' names on the spot was going to come back at them one day!

"What do you want?" Czolgosz asked coldly, not even looking at him.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm on your side" said Wyatt with a glance that was meant to show Czolgosz he was also an anarchist. Honestly, Wyatt had no idea of what he was doing and he just hoped that Czolgosz was disturbed enough to believe anything.

"What?" asked the man, looking at him with fake confusion.

Wyatt sighed inwardly, "I know what you plan to do. And I'm telling you. Wait for tomorrow," said Wyatt in a low voice.

"Is that some kind of joke?" Czolgosz asked, raising his voice.

"No, why would it be?" replied Wyatt.

"Because one hour ago, a man came here telling me that it was better to do this today, during the speech," said Czolgosz running his hands in his hair, "And how the hell do you know what I'm planning on?" he asked suddenly suspicious.

"Listen, that man, he plans on turning you over to the cops. He's a spy. He wants to stop the anarchists. I have been hired to track him! But we can't let him do that! The government is the reason why our families are poor, why we lose our jobs," explained Wyatt trying to remember everything Anna had told him that would convince Czolgosz he was on his side, "My mother died during childbirth because we were too poor to afford a doctor," said Wyatt, knowing it was how Czolgosz's own mother had died, "Do you think it would happen to those rich families the government protects?" asked Wyatt, "No! We have to put a stop to it!" he said.

"Then why not doing it today?" repeated Czolgosz, slowly starting to believe Wyatt.

"Because it's too risky! During the speech, you can miss your shot. But tomorrow, if you go for him while shaking hands, no one will have time to interfere," added Wyatt.

"What about you? Will you help me?" asked Czolgosz.

"I can't. I have another mission planned. I still have to track that spy," Wyatt said hoping Czolgosz would buy it. He wasn't about to go on a suicide mission by helping Czolgosz, hell no! he just needed to keep history as it was, not adding Tom Hanks to the names of famous president killers!

"All right, I understand," said Czolgosz taking a last sip of his whisky before leaving Wyatt alone at the bar. He didn't know if he had really convinced him. He could only pray.


	7. Meeting Flynn

**Hello everyone! Already chapter 7! I hope you like the story so far. If you do, please leave a review. I need to know if it is worth continuing that story!**

 **Thank you Di92 for your review every chapter!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **Chapter 7: Meeting Flynn**

"What do we do now?" asked Rufus when Wyatt joined he and Anna in the hotel room they had rented to rest, while waiting for their colleague who had been trying to convince Czolgosz of changing his plans. It hadn't been an easy task, a black man and a young lady all by themselves renting a hotel room, but with a lot of convincing, the clerk man had finally given in, but not without eyeing them suspiciously.

"We go to McKinley's speech and hope that Czolgosz won't try anything. We also try to find Flynn and Lucy," Wyatt replied after resting his gun by the bed table and taking off his jacket, "God she must be scared," he added rubbing his face with his hands and sitting down on the edge of the bed.

"I'm sure she's all right Wyatt…" Rufus started before being interrupted by Wyatt.

"How can everyone be so sure? Everyone keeps telling me that Lucy is probably all right, but haven't you all realize that it is Garcia Flynn we're talking about? He tried to give a German prodigy to the Russians, saved hundreds of people on the Hindenburg only to kill others he preferred, stole a nuclear bomb, wanted to make the Alamo worst! And I have to believe that he won't hurt Lucy? The woman who's been trying to stop him on every single of his missions?" Wyatt let out a cold laugh, "Hell no I don't believe that! And it kills me!" he said before taking his head in both hands, looking down at the floor.

A minute of silence fell between the three coworkers until Wyatt looked up at Rufus and Anna before continuing; "You know; I went to her house couple of nights ago to say I was sorry for shutting her out after the Watergate. She told me how scared she was and all I wanted to do was hold her and keep her safe. I made a promise to myself that I was going to protect her. I didn't want to fail her like I failed Jessica," he added with what was close to a sob.

"Stop it Wyatt!" said Rufus pacing around the room, "You didn't fail Lucy! Nothing is your fault! It is Flynn's! And we're going to find him and get Lucy back, I promise you," he added before stopping and looking directly into Wyatt's eyes to show him just how much he meant everything he was saying, "If we have to run through dozens of decades to find her we'll do it. Because she's our teammate and we will never let her down,"

When Rufus looked into Wyatt's eyes, he saw so many conflicted emotions. The poor man was a mess. Just as he was starting to get better, make friends and even starting to care for someone new, life had to get back at him. Rufus could see in his eyes how he was torn between everything. In only a few weeks, he had met a woman who listened to him, understood him and learned to read him. She had done the impossible; convinced him that he was worth something when all he wanted to do was give up. She always found the right words no matter the situation they were in. She had reached him in one of his darkest moments at the Alamo and Rufus knew that ever since then, something had changed in Wyatt.

Just after that newfound trust, they had learned about Lucy's journal and the recording Rufus was doing for Rittenhouse. Wyatt, who thought he had finally found people to rely on, was back into loneliness and resentment until he went to Lucy's house and forgave her, only strengthening their growing relationship.

Wyatt would be lying if he said that he didn't realize that moment, in her living room, that Lucy was someone worth fighting for. He thought he maybe was ready to move on, get over his past. He thought Lucy could be the person helping him do that. After all, as much as he had loved and would continue to love Jessica, he also knew that she would have never wanted him to stay alone. She would hate him if she knew he had spent all his nights of the past four years with a whiskey bottle as his sole company.

If there was an afterlife and Jessica was watching over him, she was probably so pissed off to see what he had done with his life. But she had probably seen Lucy too. And Wyatt knew that if Jessica could see Lucy, that she probably really liked her.

She had given Wyatt something to fight for. "Figure out what you're fighting for" Wyatt had said those words to Lucy only a couple of weeks ago, willing her to find some strength to get her through the tough times in their job. He just didn't know that he needed to figure out what he was fighting for too, only not at his job, but in his life. And he had figured out, with Lucy's help. But then the woman who made everything possible for him had to be kidnapped by a dangerous time traveler terrorist! Could someone give them a break?

"I just want to find her Rufus," Wyatt said with a broken voice.

"We're gonna find her Wyatt. I promise you," said Anna, taking part of the conversation. She had just met Wyatt, and yet she could see something in his eyes that told her just how much he cared for her friend. She was lucky to have found someone who cared for her that much.

"Yes Wyatt, we're going to find Lucy. But we have to assist to McKinley's speech if we want to do so. Flynn's probably going to be there, making sure Czolgosz tries and fails at killing the president. If we want a shot at talking with Flynn, it's now or never" stated Rufus.

Taking a time to gain back his composure, Wyatt shook his head and wiped off a single tear that had run down his cheek before standing up and taking his gun on the night table, "Let's go then," he said with a sigh.

* * *

"Do you see Czolgosz?" asked Rufus to Wyatt and Anna as they entered the building in which McKinley was about to give his speech. The three time travelers started scanning the crowd, looking for the Polish man, but all they could see were dozens of citizens who had come to support their president.

In the middle of the crowd stood a small wooden stage, surrounded by a couple of men who were probably there to assure the president's security, but nothing compared to what was made today! Anna had previously told them that even after Lincoln's assassination, McKinley didn't like surveillance and that was why it had allowed, or would allow, Czolgosz to kill him so easily. People in 2017 were sure more careful now!

"I can't see him, but I don't see Flynn either so I don't know if it's a good or a bad thing," Wyatt muttered, eyes still searching for Czolgosz.

"Maybe Flynn thinks he's done here and he's back in 2017?" suggested Anna.

"I don't think so… After kidnapping Lucy, he must know that we're going to go after him. And Flynn usually never leaves before he's sure that things are going to happen like he wants them to. Which almost never happens thank god" Rufus replied.

"There, it's starting!" said Anna as the audience applauded the President making his entrance on the stage.

"Wyatt!" cried Rufus! "Czolgosz is over there!" he added pointing towards behind the stage where there weren't any body guards.

"Damn! He has a gun!" said Wyatt under his breath, spotting the soon to be murderer putting his arm in his pocket, where a bulge betrayed the presence of an arm. Wyatt had to stop him from committing the irreparable until the next day. If he failed, history would be forever changed by not having Roosevelt as a president!

Wyatt made his way through the crowd, trying not to attract to much attention on himself so Czolgosz wouldn't spot him. He tried not to lose sight of him either so he'd know when to interrupt. However, as he was getting close, he felt a hand encircle his arm, stopping him from running towards the killer.

"If I were you I'd stop trying whatever you're doing Sgt Logan," hissed Flynn in his ear.

As Wyatt was about to open his mouth to reply, a gunshot ran in the air and McKinley collapsed on the stage, a bleeding hole on the back of his head, dead on the spot.

"What?" roared Flynn as the whole crowd started screaming in fear and body guards jumped on Czolgosz.

"Is it you who did this?" Flynn asked with rage.

"What? No! I tried to stop him! I wanted him to do this tomorrow!" Wyatt replied confused. Nor Flynn or himself had succeeded at convincing Czolgosz to do what they wanted him to do. At least history wouldn't change that much… What a day earlier could change Wyatt wondered.

"Well I gave him a fake gun to be sure he'd never kill McKinley and got arrested…" Flynn spat, "Apparently that stupid man didn't listen to me!"

"That it is not my fault!" Wyatt said with rage, "Now tell me where Lucy is!" he added, fire burning in his eyes.

Flynn only laughed a cold laugh, "Hahaha! You really think I'm going to tell you? You don't know me very well. But I'll be sure to pay Miss Preston a visit. I thought you were well warned to not try to stop me. Now that my mission failed, Lucy will have to pay the price,"

At his words, Wyatt wanted to jump at his throat, but two of Flynn's man hold him in place and stopped him. Wyatt also realized that Rufus and Anna had been brought by two other members of Flynn's gang.

"You know; I didn't think you'd find someone so quickly to replace Miss Preston. I thought she held a special place in your heart," Flynn said inches to Wyatt's face before the later spat in his face.

"Careful Wyatt, you don't want Lucy to be hurt don't you?" Flynn said through clenched teeth, wiping his face with the back of his hand.

Around them, the crowd was going crazy, police officers had arrived on the scene to process to the arrest of Czolgosz who was currently held by two of McKinley's body guards.

"Well I guess this is my cue to leave," said Flynn as he took in the scene, "Take their guns," he ordered to his men before disappearing in the crowd.

Anna, Rufus and Wyatt were left in the middle of the general panic with nothing more to do than come back to 2017.


	8. The Aftermath

**Hello everyone! Here comes chapter 8!**

 **I just want to warn you that Flynn is going to be a little OC in my story. I now know that he wouldn't do such a thing, but I wasn't as convinced when I started writing it. I hope you still enjoy it!**

 **For the person who asked me to get Lucy back, I just want you to know that it will happen, but it might take some time...**

 **Be patient ;)**

 **Chapter 8: The Aftermath**

Flynn had been gone for a while now and Lucy wondered where he was and to do what. Was he going to kill a president? Change the issue of a war? Make the slavery last longer? Would she notice it if he changed something or would she be just as oblivious as agent Christopher when the team came back from a mission? What if something changed and she didn't remember Wyatt or Rufus? How would she hang on without knowing they were out there looking for her?

She just hoped she wouldn't have to ask herself those questions and that Wyatt and Rufus wouldn't have too much difficulties stopping Flynn from changing irrevocably the American history.

After a couple of hours of thinking like that and pacing in the dark between her four walls, Lucy started to get hungry and really needed to go to the bathroom. She just didn't know if she wanted to face Flynn's henchman. He didn't look like the most charming guy the last time she had seen him. Eventually though, Lucy couldn't wait anymore. Taking a deep breath and reassembling all her courage, she knocked shyly at the metal door once, but no one answered.

Biting her lips in nervousness, she knocked a second time and this time the door opened wide. The lights from the other side of the door blinded Lucy who had been kept in the dark for hours and she had to shield her eyes to see who was in front of her. Eyeing her up and down from the doorway stood Chuck, Flynn's man.

"What?" he spat, clearly annoyed.

"I… I was just wondering if I could go to the bathroom?" Lucy asked trying not to show how much the man alone scared her.

He sighed before grabbing her arm roughly and guiding her out of her cell. Lucy's first instinct was to take a deep breath. She hadn't realized how trapped she was still feeling between the four walls of that dark room. She thought she was feeling better after overcoming her panic attack, but clearly she still had some work to do.

She took the time to look around and discovered with surprise that she was in a basement. A 2017 basement with a HD TV currently showing an action movie and Wi-Fi computers flashing all sorts of signals that only Rufus and Jiya would understand. The man was probably keeping track of the mothership, wherever and whenever it was.

At least Lucy realized she wasn't stuck in some sort of old prison from the 1800's full of diseases that were completely eliminated nowadays. She eliminated one worry on her impressive list. It would be easier for her friend to find her in 2017 than in some era they never went.

They finally crossed the entire basement and Chuck threw her in a room, Lucy barely managing to keep her balance.

"You have 5 minutes," he said coldly before locking the door behind him.

Lucy took another deep breath. She was in a small bathroom with a toilet, a dirty shower and an old rusted sink with a chipped stained mirror above it. Lucy caught her reflection in the mirror and gasped. She looked like hell. Her cheek was slightly swollen and a big bruise ran along her jaw where Flynn had hit her. Her hair was all dishevelled and her 1920's pink dress that she liked so much was rippled and dirty. As dirty as it seemed, she wished she could take a shower to wash everything away, but knew it was too much to ask. She settled with splashing warm water on her face.

After 5 minutes, Lucy got out and Chuck was there, waiting to bring her back to her cell. He let her walk in front of him this time instead of holding her by the arm which Lucy was grateful for. He wasn't exactly the gentle type and his previous hold would sure leave other bruises to her now expanding collection.

But that time, when Lucy entered her cell, Chuck followed her instead of locking the door behind her like she expected him to do.

When Lucy turned around she was surprised to find him really close to her face and let out a small cry.

"Did I scare you?" Chuck asked with an evil smile, letting out a breath that smelled like beer and cigarettes.

Lucy winced and backed away nervously until her back came in contact with the wall, "No… I-I just wasn't expecting that," she said trying to sound confidant, but failing miserably.

Flynn's man smirked as he closed the space between them, extending his arms on each side of Lucy, trapping her against the wall, "You know, you're not bad looking for a prisoner, even with that bruise" he laughed running a finger along Lucy's jaw, "I wonder what's under all those layers of fabric," he added, taking a fistful of her pink dress in his hands while Lucy clenched her fists at her side until they turned white to stop them from shaking. She really hated what was going on and where it was heading.

Suddenly, before she had time to register anything, Chuck's lips were on hers and he started kissing her sloppily. Lucy tried to push him off, but he was too strong. He forcefully pushed his tongue inside of her mouth and a disgusting taste of alcohol and tobacco invaded her. One of his hands got under her dress and he started caressing her thighs way too high for her liking. She let out a small whimper as she pushed him off once again, but still without success.

"Chuck! Stop it!" ordered a voice and for the first time in her life, Lucy was actually relieved to hear Flynn, "We might have kidnapped her, but you know I don't approve those sorts of things!", he chastised, sending a harsh look at his man.

As Chuck let go of her reluctantly, Lucy whipped her mouth furiously with the back of her hands and tried to regain her breath and stop shaking. She had difficulties to process what had just happened, but knew it had been a close call. She hoped Wyatt would get her out of there before she was left alone again with that man.

"I have another job for you to do," Flynn said with an evil smile, "Sgt Logan did interrupt my plan after all and McKinley was still assassinated by that stupid peasant," he explained as Lucy understood what plans he had had for history: preventing Roosevelt from becoming president.

"I need to show them I wasn't kidding. Hit her," Flynn ordered before crossing his arms and looking at Lucy defiantly.

Lucy just backed away further to the corner of the room, trying to postpone the inevitable. She was trying so hard to show Flynn she wasn't afraid and that she still had faith in her team, but slowly he was starting to break her.

Before she had time to realize anything, the first blow came to the side of her head and she collapsed on her hands and knees from the strength of the impact. The room was spinning and she was trying hard not to throw up.

Then Chuck kicked her on her side and she collapsed fully, all air taken out from her lungs. She let out a cry of pain before she received a couple of other kicks. Finally, Flynn stopped his man and crouched down to her level.

"I'm sorry Lucy, but this was necessary, your little friends don't seem to take this seriously. See, they've already found you a replacement," he said showing her a picture of Anna with Rufus and Wyatt in 1901.

Lucy couldn't see much through her troubled spinning vision, but she easily recognized her colleagues in 1901 clothing, walking around the streets of Buffalo, with Anna, her friend. Added to Lucy's fear and pain, it was enough to break her finally. Her friends, her team, the people she trusted the most nowadays, Wyatt, they weren't even looking for her. They already had her replaced. With a colleague of hers she thought was her friend. No one was coming for her.

"Why… why k-keeping me… here… then?," she managed to stay between breaths, her ribs killing her every time she took a breath.

"Well, I just wanted to give them a last chance, you know. Maybe if they see what I did to you they'll be scared I'll do the same to that new historian they found," Flynn explained as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

"If it doesn't work, I guess next time I'll just have to get rid of you," he added with wink before standing up.

"You can keep it," he said, letting the picture fall next to Lucy before leaving her alone once again.

It didn't take long before Lucy passed out from the pain, both physically from Chuck's beating and mentally from her friends' betrayal.


	9. The Video

**Hello! Here comes chapter 9!**

 **I would really like to know what you think of the story so far, so please review!**

 **Chapter 9: The video**

The lifeboat landed with a loud noise and a big swirl of air, the sheets from Jiya's desk only kept in place by the paper press bought by an irritated Mason, who was tired of running after them before and after every trip.

Jiya bit her nails in nervousness, just like she did every time the lifeboat landed. The couple of minutes between the landing and the opening of the door were always painfully long. Not knowing how had gone the mission, what had changed, if somebody had been hurt; it was always the worst for her. Seeing a green looking Wyatt helping Lucy out of the lifeboat, followed by Rufus complaining about whatever bugs had stung him was always a relief.

She hoped more than ever that it was the scene awaiting her.

However, that day, when the door of the lifeboat opened. It didn't take long for her to know that the latest mission hadn't gone too well. She realized with a pang of the heart that Lucy was probably still lost out there, completely at Flynn's mercy. The bad mood and the anger of the team was practically palpable.

"Did Roosevelt ever became president?" Wyatt asked with a dull tone as soon as he stepped off the lifeboat, not turning around to help to woman they had all hoped to find.

"Of course he did, in 1901," replied Christopher, confused as why it was so important to Wyatt in that particular moment, considering the context in which they had gone on their latest mission, without Lucy.

"Great," he sighed, "That's the only great thing," he muttered before walking towards the wardrobe, not saying anything else, leaving dumfounded colleagues behind him. But no one dared to follow him for more explanation, knowing very well that Wyatt needed some time to think, a little bit of peace.

Christopher glanced questioningly at Rufus and Anna who shook their head. "We saw Flynn. We stopped him but he said to Wyatt that Lucy was going to pay for our actions…" Rufus explained trailing off.

"I'm sorry," said the agent with a shake of the head, understanding better Wyatt's reaction. If she was in his situation, she'd probably react the same way.

"It's not your fault. We're all trying real hard to find Lucy, but we have no way of tracing the lifeboat when it's in 2017. Plus, I doubt that Flynn had brought Lucy with him in 1901 or that he'll bring her on any other mission. He wants to use her as leverage, to keep us from stopping him. We need to find a way to force him telling us where he keeps Lucy or we'll never find her," Rufus sighed and Jiya came to him to give him a comforting hug, as comforting to him than it was to her. Lucy's kidnapping was affecting everyone.

"I can't believe how Wyatt must be feeling," Rufus stated as he realized how lucky he was to have Jiya next to him, safe. "I mean, I'm really worried for Lucy too, but for Wyatt it's a whole other level. He likes her. He finally gives himself the permission to live again after four years of grief and the minute he starts caring for another woman, she has to disappear!"

Everyone stayed silent as the gravity of the situation sunk in. They had allowed themselves to stupidly think it was going to be an easy task finding Lucy. The reality had just slapped them in the face, and boy did it hurt!

They were interrupted by a popping sound coming from Jiya's computer, signaling they had received an email. Everybody tensed, thinking it could be related to Flynn. Agent Christopher was the first one to break the tension and went to open the email, Rufus, Jiya, Mason and Anna following her in the metal stairs towards the deck where was the computer.

"It's from Flynn" she confirmed as she opened the mailbox.

"I warned you," read Anna aloud, from behind agent Christopher's shoulder.

Agent Christopher clicked on the joined file. It was a single video. Everyone gasped as it started, showing one of Flynn's man hitting Lucy on the temple, before kicking her in the ribs and stomach as she was gasping for air. Anna's eyes filled with tears and she had to look away as a close shot of Lucy's face came, showing her struggling for air, blood running down her temple and a big bruise on her jaw. Finally, the video came to an end. No one dared to move, too shocked to say anything.

"What are you all watching?" Wyatt asked dully as he came back from the wardrobe in a casual pair of jeans and a white t-shirt. He had been quick to change, not wanting to stay in clothes that reminded him of his failed mission.

Jiya was quick enough to close the video before Wyatt appeared behind her desk, looking at everyone suspiciously.

"Nothing, we hum…were just checking on hum… Wikipedia… how much history changed. You know, with McKinley and Roosevelt…" Rufus lied, badly.

"You're a terrible liar Rufus and you know it," protested Wyatt.

"We received a video from Flynn," explained Denise, knowing there was no point in lying to Wyatt. No matter what, he would find a way to know the truth, a truth that he deserved to know.

Wyatt turned white and clenched his fists at his sides, imagining a thousand scenarios in his head. Flynn's words about Lucy paying for their actions echoed in his mind and he closed his eyes, fearing the worst.

"Let me see," he ordered and everyone looked at each other questioningly.

"Wyatt, I don't think tha-," Rufus started before being interrupted by Wyatt.

"Let, me, see," he repeated, pronouncing every word in an almost threatening manner.

Jiya let him her chair before giving a comforting pat on the shoulder and everyone backed off, giving Wyatt some space.

He watched the video ten times. He couldn't comprehend what he was seeing. How could someone be so twisted to hurt Lucy? She had done nothing wrong! She was just a historian who tried to defend the present as they knew it.

Wyatt finally had enough and turned off the computer. He stared into empty space for a couple of minutes, not able to shake off the image of Lucy struggling for air, face contortioned in pain. He just wanted to take her place and take her pain. He wanted to hold her and tell her everything would be okay. That's what he was supposed to do! He was supposed to protect her! But he couldn't! Because he had no freaking way of knowing where she was!

"Garcia Flynn is gonna pay," was all Wyatt said to his colleagues before walking out of the building. No one tried to stop him.

* * *

Rufus was sitting in Mason's industry almost empty cafeteria, absent-mindedly tossing his greek salad with his fork, not feeling really hungry with everything that was going on, when Jiya sat in front of him.

"You okay?" she asked covering his free hand with hers and looking at him worryingly.

Rufus simply shrugged, "How can I comfort Wyatt when I'm starting to lose faith too?" he asked with sadness in his eyes.

Jiya looked down and sighed, "I don't know Rufus, but we have no right to give up! Not when it's Lucy who's fighting for her life. She's probably counting on us. We owe her to keep trying!" she replied.

Rufus looked at her, eyes glistening with unshed tears. How life had become so complicated? How had he gone from a simple technician to a freaking time travel machine pilot chasing a terrorist through time? He was not made for that job. He hadn't been trained to act when people's lives were on the line. He didn't know what to do, didn't how to react; "But what can we do? There's absolutely no way of finding the mothership!"

"You're a genius Rufus, you invented a freaking time travel machine! There must be one thing you could try?" Jiya pleaded, "Everyone is so focused on finding the mothership, or Flynn, but what about those pictures and videos? Isn't there a way to know where they were taken?" she suggested.

"You already checked, you told me yourself," Rufus said, shaking his head.

"Yeah, but I'm not you. Maybe there's something I missed. A signal well-hidden and encrypted that only you could understand?" Jiya tried again.

Rufus looked at her intently. He wanted to tell her yes so bad. Oh how much did he want to find Lucy, to put an end to everyone's worries, and mostly to Lucy's pain. But honestly he had no idea how to do it. Still, Jiya was right. He couldn't give up, and he wouldn't. Lucy deserved that much.

"I can keep checking, Jiya, but I doubt I'll ever find anything," he said before standing up

and heading back to the launch area and to his old technician desk.

* * *

Hours or days, really, she had no idea of knowing, passed by as Lucy drifted in and out of consciousness, her whole body in pain savouring the few moments of rest she'd get when she was sleeping. It was better than staying awake and having time to think about everything that hurt physically and mentally. The picture of Rufus, Wyatt and Anna strolling down the streets of 1901 Buffalo had been left by Flynn on purpose, a reminder that her friends had already replaced her.

Anna. Lucy liked her so much. She was one of the few people of her age working at the university with her. They got along well and sometimes spent girl's night together, with Amy. But maybe she wasn't friend with Anna in that timeline? It was so hard to stay on top of this when everything was changing so fast. It was like living someone else's life all of a sudden.

Amy. Lucy just wished that if she wasn't going to make it out of that hell hole Flynn had her trapped in, that she'd see Amy again. Poor Amy, erased from history with no one knowing she ever existed except Lucy. Only because of what Flynn had done. His blinded rage had lead him to do exactly was he was getting revenge for. By erasing people from history to get his wife and daughter back, how many wives and daughters had he erased exactly? Probably too much to count! Accepting that job was probably the worst decision Lucy had ever taken. It had brought nothing but heartbreak. First Amy and now her colleagues.

Rufus. Always entertaining Rufus. She really thought they had become friends. After they came back from Washington, she thought that based on the secrets they had felt forced to keep, they had developed some sort of respect and understanding of each other. They could understand what the other had went through. They were both so glad when Wyatt forgave them.

Wyatt. There was no need to hide her feelings in her cell. Lucy liked Wyatt. He made her feel safe and she felt like she could face anything when he was there. She had hoped that what she was feeling had been mutual. She didn't expect him to love her, no. She knew that Wyatt's heart was forever with Jessica. She just thought that he cared for her a little. At least enough to try finding her. After everything they had gone through, after she had saved his life twice. She really thought that his smirks and winks were a sign that he liked her a little too.

But she was on her own.


	10. Alone with Chuck

**Hi everyone!**

 **First of all, thank you for the kind reviews! I'm really glad that some people are enjoying my story!**

 **Now about this chapter, I had some difficulties writing it because I wanted it to be realistic and not to happen too fast. The chapter is shorter that I wanted too, but I still hope you'll enjoy it!**

 **Also, for the rest of the story, let's pretend that Lucy broke up with Noah before her last mission. It's going to be too complicated if I have to integrate him to the plot…**

 **Have a good read!**

 **Chapter 10: Alone with Chuck**

A couple of days passed before Lucy saw anyone again. To her, it felt like an eternity. She had nothing else to do than sleep and think about everything that hurt. She barely moved because of the pain, standing up every once in a while to stretch her sore muscles, trying not to hurt herself.

At least, Flynn had had the decency to provide her with water and bread before disappearing. Still, the supplies had disappeared since long and Lucy was now suffering from thirst and hunger. Added to her previous injuries, she was starting to lose faith that she'd get out of there alive. The more time she spent secluded, the weaker her faith became.

She spent the most of her days trying to sleep, but cruelly even that, her only release, was getting rare. The pain, the cold and the uncomfortable concrete floor kept her awake most of the time, thinking about everything: her erased sister, her healthy mother, the unknown fiancé with whom she had broken up days ago, Wyatt.

She was starting to believe she'd stay in the darkness of the room forever when the door opened on a morning, almost a week after she'd been kidnapped.

"Hi Lucy! How are you doing?" asked Flynn with a chuckle as Lucy tried to sit up from the foetal position she had been in, covering her eyes who were blinded by the lights after being in the dark for so long. As she moved, her ribs shot her a wave of pain and she couldn't help but wince. She was sure a couple were broken.

"Hum… looks like it hurts huh?" Flynn asked with a fake caring tone.

Lucy simply shot him a look full of anger, not daring to answer with words. She wasn't ready to face the consequences of what she might say if she opened her mouth.

"So, I'm going on a new mission today," Flynn announced happily, not bothered by Lucy's lack of interaction, "Of course you're going to stay here, but since I'm not as horrible as you think I am, I'm going to leave you some food and water. It's been awhile hasn't it?" he said with a mean smirk. Lucy's stomach chose that moment to rumble and she turned red as it confirmed what Flynn thought.

"It seems that you are indeed really hungry" the man chuckled.

"Anyway, you're going to stay with Chuck, but don't worry I made him promise not to try anything. I might have kidnapped you, but I don't accept that kind of abuse" he added and for the first time in forever Lucy believed him. But that didn't make her feel better at all. Chuck might have promised Flynn, but the man didn't appear like someone who always held up to his parole. After all, the people Flynn had hired to help him on his wild revenge quest were criminals. And criminals had the tendency to not always listen to orders.

Lucy felt like throwing up at the idea of being left alone with that man again. She was absolutely in no shape to fight him. Tears came to her eyes and that time she didn't try to stop them. Who cared if Flynn was seeing her crying? He was probably just going to kill her after his mission anyway if it didn't work out like he was expecting.

"Don't cry Lucy, I promise I'll bring you back a souvenir," said Flynn with a wink before leaving her once again.

Lucy was trying really hard not to go into a full panic attack. Everything hurt, she didn't remember the last time she had eaten anything, and she was about to be left alone again with a man whose lips she could still feel on hers when she closed her eyes and had nightmares. Only this time no one would be there to stop him. She was starting to hyperventilate and didn't know how to calm herself anymore. All the tricks she had developed in the days she spent trying to deal with the fear and her claustrophobia didn't work anymore. Her sobs were getting loud and she had trouble breathing.

Suddenly, the metal door opened wildly and Chuck entered her cell with a vicious smile. At his sight, Lucy's cries turned into pleads as she stood up shakily, supporting her weight on the wall.

"No, No, please, no," she cried as Chuck all but jumped on her and started kissing her furiously, groping every part of her body in a rude manner that Lucy knew was going to leave bruises.

"Come on baby, stop fighting me," Chuck slurred when Lucy tried to push him off with the little strength she had.

He only replied by gripping her wrists with one of his hand while the other teared the front of her vintage dress, exposing more cleavage than Lucy was comfortable with. Having access to more skin, he started kissing parts of her body that Lucy was really not comfortable with.

Hours ago, she had lost faith that anyone would save her and was about to accept that it was the end, but ending it that way? She absolutely refused! She had survived to many things to end it today: her car crash, the Alamo, Nazis. She couldn't and wouldn't give up.

She fought like hell to get Chuck off of her. His breath smelled of alcohol and he slurred when he talked. Lucy hoped that it was a sign in her favor. If he was enough intoxicated, maybe it wouldn't be too hard to win the battle.

Lucy kicked and tossed and turned with every bit of energy left in her injured body who was screaming in pain at her every move. "Stop it!" Chuck slurred as he continued trying kissing Lucy even though she was fighting under him.

But Lucy didn't stop and bit Chuck's beer-and-cigarettes-flavored tongue as he pushed it forcefully in her mouth.

"You bitch!" Chuck yelled as he retracted and groaned in pain.

Chuck answered to Lucy's rebel attempt by grabbing her by the throat, cutting all oxygen from her lungs. Lucy panicked at the feeling and fought even more, trying to take the man's hands off her neck. As seconds passed by, she was getting dizzy from the lack of oxygen and thought that was it, until she spotted Chuck's gun on his belt. The man was stupid enough to bring it with him! In a last desperate attempt, Lucy went for the gun and blindly shot, touching Chuck in the leg.

The pain made him loose his grasp on Lucy who fell to the floor, coughing as air entered her lungs again. She managed to get up wobbly on her legs before making a run for the door while Chuck laid on the floor, holding his leg in pain.

In the basement, Lucy moved as quickly as her injured body allowed her. She spotted the stairs leading upstairs and made a run for them.

"Come back here!" Chuck yelled through gritted teeth and Lucy only accelerated as fast as she could given her state.

Mid-way up, a pair of hands caught Lucy's legs and she fell forward on her arm. A crack resonated, and the pain that came with it made no doubt in her mind that it was broken. Lucy looked down at her feet to see a weak and bleeding Chuck tugging at her legs and trying to take her down in the basement. She gave him a last kick on the head with all her strength and he tumbled unconscious down the stairs.

Not taking a time to breath in case Chuck woke up, Lucy dashed upstairs and through the front door of what was apparently a cabin in the middle of the woods. A single road was in front of the cabin and Lucy refused to take it, knowing that it was where Flynn and his people would look for her first. Instead, she headed through the forest as fast as she could, wanting to put as much distance as possible between her and the hell hole in which she had been held captive for days.


	11. Hangover

**Hello everyone!**

 **Wow! Thank you for all the kind reviews about last chapter! It really is motivating to have feedbacks.**

 **I'm sorry if the updates don't come as fast in the next few days, but I'm really busy at school with the mid-terms… But don't worry, I will finish this story!**

 **Enjoy chapter 11!**

 **Chapter 11: Hangover**

Rays of sunshine peeked through Wyatt's bedroom curtains and he groaned as he woke up, the bright lighting making his head pound. It was the 4th day in a row that Wyatt woke up with a hangover.

Ever since they had come back from Buffalo and he had seen the video of Lucy, his life had been turned upside down. It was like feeling the same way he had felt when he lost Jessica. The feeling of guilt and failure weighted on him.

He had spent four years with that feeling and not until recently, until after the Alamo to be precise, he had started, just a little, working on that guilt thinking that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't responsible for Jessica's death, or for leaving his teammates behind in Syria. Would he always feel guilty of leaving her alone on that road? Yes. But was it his fault that she had been killed? No. That was what he had come to terms with in the last weeks. So he had said good-bye to that old bottle of whiskey he always kept in one of his cupboards, had put the bulletin board away and had decided it was well time to start living again. All that because Lucy had made him feel like he was still worth something when she said she needed him.

That was two weeks and a half ago. Then they had gone to Nixon's Washington where he had felt betrayed by his friends, but nothing more than a night of apologies was needed before he felt alive again.

And then they had to go to New-York and head their separated ways. What a stupid decision! As stupid as letting Jessica on that road by herself! So the feeling of failure came back, but Wyatt tried to fight it by putting all his energy into fighting Flynn in the next mission they were sent too. But by doing just that, he had condemned Lucy to pain and sufferance. Flynn had warned him about the consequences of stopping him and he had still gone after him, thinking he was stronger and smarter. Turned out the man still escaped and took everything out on Lucy, something Wyatt wasn't ready to forgive himself for.

At first he had tried busying himself into work, bothering every agent until they had explored every possible lead to find where Lucy was. They even went back, he, Rufus and Anna, to 1929 New-York, a couple of hours after their departure to make sure that they didn't cross themselves, in case Flynn had left Lucy there. But just like everything else they had tried, it lead to nothing more than disappointment and anger.

Wyatt couldn't take it anymore. Every time he closed his eyes he could see Lucy's expression of pain as she was laying on the concrete floor, gasping for air while one of Flynn's man took pleasure in kicking her over and over again.

So the feeling of failure came back in full force and so did the old bottle of whiskey. Because when he drank it was the only time that he wasn't seeing Lucy's face when he closed his eyes. For a couple of hours, it was just numb darkness.

Still, when he woke up, just like that morning, Wyatt regretted it every time. His pounding headache was yet another reminder of how much a failure he was. He couldn't even support the pressure of what he had done. He couldn't face it and preferred to drown his sorrows in alcohol, what a loser he was! He just didn't know what else to do. How was he supposed to find Lucy when he didn't have a single clue as to where she was?

Wyatt turned over in his bed to avoid the bright rays of light and tried to fall back asleep, but the thoughts wouldn't leave his mind. All he could think about was how much a failure he was. However, that morning, he didn't have time to self-pity really long because a loud knock at the door interrupted him, making his head close to explode.

Wyatt first ignored it, groaning and pulling his covers up over his head, wanting to go back to sleep until the next day, but the pounding on the door never stopped. In fact, the person, who Wyatt soon recognised as Rufus, started calling for him.

"Wyatt! Wyatt!" he called, "I know you're in there! Open the damn door before I have to do it myself!" Rufus all but screamed in an irritated manner.

Wyatt's heart skipped a beat as he heard Rufus' voice. Was he there because they had found Lucy?

He got out of his bed faster than ever, ignoring the dizziness as he stood up, and ran to door, which he opened wildly before looking at Rufus expectantly, but his friend simply took time to stare at him, concern written all over his face "Wyatt…" he started, "You look like hell…" stated Rufus as he entered Wyatt's apartment and took in his friend's dishevelled hair, unshaved face and the dark circles under his eyes.

"Have you found her Rufus?" was all Wyatt replied not caring for a second about how he looked.

Rufus sighed, "No, we're working on some encrypted signals that I found right now, but we aren't even sure they are about the location of the video," Rufus explained with a sorry expression.

"Damn it!" Wyatt cursed before punching the wall next to the door, hurting his hand in the process.

"Stop it Wyatt!" Rufus cried as he saw his friend shake his injured hand in pain, "This is not going to help Lucy!" he chastised.

"I know! Don't you think I know Rufus?" Wyatt exploded, "I've spent the last four days in my apartment trying to forget that there's absolutely no way for me to find Lucy!"

"Yeah? And you don't think Lucy deserves better than you trying to forget about her? She's out there somewhere, hurt, alone, and she probably counts on us more than anything in the world! We have no right to self-pity and try to forget about her! Even if we have no idea of how we're going to find her, we're gonna keep fighting is that clear?" Rufus said in a breath, looking wide eyed at Wyatt.

The soldier sank down to the floor, his back to the wall he had just punched, and Rufus did the same next to him, "I know you're hurting Wyatt and I know that you care about Lucy, but right now you're not showing it," Rufus said with a new-found calm voice.

"I know, I just feel so guilty Rufus," Wyatt began in a whisper.

"You shouldn't. Not a single thing in that story is your fault," Rufus added, cutting him off.

"No? What about "If you stop me I'll hurt Lucy?"" Wyatt asked in a provocative manner, his voice raising.

"You really think that it would have been better to let Flynn go on with his plan? He would have probably hurt her anyway. He's not gonna stop. Never. The man has gone crazy, he wants revenge and he won't rest until he's got it or until someone stops him!" Rufus replied.

"That doesn't stop me from feeling like the biggest failure in the world," said Wyatt closing his eyes.

"Enough with the pity Wyatt! We all make mistakes, but it is our duty to do our best to repair them! You think we shouldn't have split? Fine! Can we go back and not split? No! But can we concentrate on finding Lucy? Yes! So you'll stop mopping in your apartment all day long and you'll come with me! I don't care if all you can do is bring Jiya and I coffee while we try to break that code. You're going to do something! This is gonna help both you and Lucy!" Rufus said standing up and offering Wyatt his hand.

Rufus was right, thought Wyatt. He had no right to stay in his apartment drowning his sorrows while he wasn't the one fighting for his life. He just felt so helpless. But if bringing Jiya coffee had any chance of helping Lucy, he'd do it all day long! He just wanted her back, safe in his arms.

"All right! Let's go!" said Wyatt, taking Rufus' extended hand.

* * *

"Sgt Logan, glad to see you this morning," said agent Christopher with a real smile when Wyatt entered Mason's industry launch area. He had taken time to freshen up, shaved his growing stubble and take a shower, which made him look more presentable. Still, the dark circles around his eyes were still there, a reminder of how many worries he had at the time.

"I'm sorry agent Christopher. I just didn't know what to do and I just felt so helpless," Wyatt explained, looking down at the floor in shame. He wasn't proud of how he had reacted in the last few days, but he was now ready to change things. He knew he shouldn't have given up, but a part of him was so broken that he thought Lucy would be better off without him. After all, the people he cared about always seemed to get hurt.

But Rufus had made him see that what was happening wasn't his fault, nor did he had a right to give up because of that. He'd fight till the end to get Lucy back!

"It's okay. I understand that this is hard for you, but I'm glad that you're back. Lucy deserves all our help," added the agent with a tap on the shoulder before leaving Wyatt alone.

He went to the cafeteria and ordered three coffees. One for him, to get rid of his hangover, one for Rufus and one for Jiya. If it could help he was ready to try anything.

As he was handing the money to the young man at the cash register, Rufus appeared at the end of the hall, running towards him with an expression that made Wyatt's heart skip a beat and drop his three coffees to the floor.

"We found her Wyatt!" Rufus cried with joy, "Jiya cracked the codes I found earlier and we know where the video was taken! Christopher's getting ready to leave and she wanted to know if you'd join?" Rufus asked already knowing the answer while Wyatt simply ran past him towards the launch area, not caring about the spilled coffee and the dumbfounded cashier.

"Where is she?" Wyatt asked expectantly as he spotted Agent Christopher talking to other agents in the launch area below the stairs, probably about how they were to proceed.

She turned towards him with the biggest smile he had ever seen on her, "At a cabin in the woods registered under one of Flynn's henchman's name," she explained, "It's about 2 hours from here."

"I can come with you can I?" he asked almost frantically, "I have to see her,"

"You can come Sgt Logan, but don't forget that we don't know in what state we'll find Lucy. I don't want this to be too overwhelming," she said on a warning, but caring tone.

"I know, but I have to be there."

"Okay, we're leaving in a couple of minutes. I just have to finish organizing my people."

"Everyone!" shouted Jiya, "Flynn just took out the mothership! May 20th 1790 in Pennsylvania,"

"Damn," Wyatt cursed, "I'm telling you, I'm not going after him! I'm going to get Lucy!" Wyatt stated wide eyed.

Agent Christopher smiled, "Actually, it's a good thing, if he's not there it's going to be easier to save Lucy. Rufus, call Anna, you two are going on a trip in 1790! Jiya, how would you feel about going with them?" suggested the agent, knowing that the young technician secretly hoped to participate on a mission someday.

"Yeah… yeah! Of course," Jiya mumbled.

"Sgt Logan, let's go get Lucy, Agent Miller? I trust you to prepare the team before they go back in time alright?" she asked to one of her subordinate before she and Wyatt left with other agents to find Lucy. Finally, Wyatt was going to get her back.


	12. Finding Lucy

**Hello everyone!**

 **First of all, that last episode, wow! I really, sincerely, hope the show will get renewed because I don't want to live like that without answers! I mean the end? Mind-blowing!**

 **And I really liked Lucy and Wyatt's interaction too! I was kind of sad that we didn't see more throughout the whole season, but at the same time I think it's better like that. They are slowly building something and I really love it**

 **It inspired me to write more even though I have so much to do at school!**

 **I just wanted to answer to Morninglillies review: I started writing this story really early in the show when I didn't know how the characters would evolve. I realized as the episodes went by that my portraying wasn't quite on the spot, but I'm trying to work on it without jeopardizing the whole story plan I have. Thank you for the comment though, I'll try to work on it.**

 **And thank you all for the reviews!**

 **Now, finally, here it is, Wyatt will find Lucy. Good things come to those who wait ;)**

 **Chapter 12: Finding Lucy**

Lucy had been walking in the depths of the forest for close to an hour now and she was trying desperately not to admit to herself that she was lost. She had tried to not lose sight of the road, she really did, but she was too afraid that by doing so it would be easy for Chuck to find her when he'd wake up, if he ever did, or when Flynn would come back. The mere thought of being brought back to that basement made her panic when she imagined what they would do to her after escape and her fight with Chuck.

So she had headed deeper into the forest, thinking and praying that she was walking in a straight line and that somehow she would find a main road soon. But her head was spinning, she was dehydrated and hadn't eaten in days, her arm was probably broken and her ribs hurt with every step and every breath. Walking in a straight line in those conditions was pretty hard, especially when she kept catching her feet in roots and rocks, making much more noise than she intended to. At least the sun was still high in the sky, which really was the only positive point in her situation. She could still count on a couple of hours to find her way out of there. If she ever did. And rays of sunshine that peeked through the tree branches made the cold San-Francisco, if that was where she still was, winter air a little more bearable for her light dress and bare arms.

Still, she didn't want to admit to herself that she was lost. Because she wasn't ready to give up yet. Not after all the energy she had put into fighting. She had freed herself and it wasn't just to give up later on. She would fight till the very end. She was right after all, she wasn't the kind of girl who just waited for someone to come and save her. She had taken the mater into her hands and she wasn't going to give up.

Wyatt, Rufus and everyone else might have chosen to forget about her, but she was going to prove them that she could manage on her own. She wanted to escape mainly to prove them how wrong they had been to lose faith in her. She hoped they'd feel as guilty as she had been hurt by them when they would realize that she escaped just fine without their help. If she couldn't count on them at least she could count on herself.

* * *

The ride to the cabin lasted approximately two hours, just like Agent Christopher had predicted. It was probably the two slowest hours of Wyatt's life. It gave him time to think about too much things. One minute he was imagining how great it would be to hold Lucy in his arms and bring her home, the next one he couldn't help but picture her unconscious in her cell or pleading for Flynn to stop hurting her, or even worse. He couldn't stop fidgeting and sighing and he knew that he was probably making the other agents crazy, but he didn't care. He had been waiting all week for this moment and he was seconds away to finally get Lucy back. Who knew how long a second could last in those conditions?

Wyatt was about to explode from the painful wait he was enduring, when the military vehicle he was in finally turned on a side road leading deep into the forest boarding the highway. Wyatt could hear his heart beating in his chest as he made out between the branches of the trees, the outlines of what he knew was the cabin where Lucy was being held.

They approached in silence, no sirens, no flashing lights or anything, not wanting to alert anyone in case they'd react impulsively. The last thing they needed was to hurt Lucy more than she already was.

Agent Christopher gave orders through her walkie-talkie to the others agents who dispersed quickly and quietly around the cabin, blocking every door or window, in case anyone tried to escape.

With her gun raised, she went for the front door and smiled when the doorknob turned at the movement of her hand. The main door to the cabin was unlocked. Slowly, without any noise, she opened the door and she entered in the quiet cabin, followed by Wyatt and four other agents, all on their guards, waiting for any sign that someone was in there.

No noise could be heard and for a moment Wyatt wondered if they were wrong about the location of the video until agent Christopher spotted the stairs leading to the basement and jumped when she saw an unconscious man sprawled at the bottom, his right leg bleeding from a gunshot, letting huge dark red spots on the floor.

"Get him," she ordered to her people, "He's probably alone otherwise someone would have taken care of him,"

While a part of the team took care of the man, Wyatt and agent Christopher explored the basement. They found what they were looking for at the end of the hallway. The room had probably first been built in order to serve as a cold room for hunters, but Wyatt recognized it as the cell in which the pictures and video had been taken. He could recognize the cold hard concrete floor he had stared at so many times, wishing he could find it and get Lucy out of there.

Oh how much he had imagined what he would do when he'd find it. The first being taking Lucy in his arms and never let go. But it wasn't like anything he had expected, because the room was empty.

From the unconscious man to the empty room, one thing was clear: Lucy had escaped.

"She's not here," he stated, bewildered, to Christopher who looked at him with a smile, "That's a good sign Wyatt. Lucy Preston is a fighter, she probably used Flynn's mission to escape. She must not be far away though,"

"How come we didn't see her on the road?" Wyatt asked, "Stupid question, she's too intelligent for that, probably headed through the forest," he thought aloud letting out a shaky breath. As glad as he was that Lucy had escaped, he was also a little disappointed that she was still missing. Judging by the man's state, if they had fought to the point where Lucy had shot him, it could mean that she was equally hurt.

"Come, on let's start searching the forest," suggested Christopher before heading back upstairs and Wyatt followed her eagerly, wanting to find Lucy as fast as he could. If she was hurt, they had no time to lose.

"Is he dead?" Wyatt asked grimly as he caught sight of the man Lucy had fought, currently being lifted on a stretcher.

"No, he still has a pulse, we called an ambulance," answered one of the agents.

Wyatt glanced at him more carefully and recognized the man who had beaten Lucy. He couldn't help but be proud that she had the opportunity to defend herself that time. That was the Lucy he knew. She was a fighter.

* * *

Lucy was extremely tired. She just wanted to sit for a few minutes and take a nap. But she was afraid that if she did so she wouldn't wake up in case Flynn came back. It was getting harder than ever to keep walking and she was stumbling every two or three steps, having to catch her breath by leaning on a tree. Her vision was blurred, her throat was dry, her arm throbbed in pain and the world was spinning. She just wanted to sit, just a couple of minutes to relieve some of the pain.

She didn't have much a choice because suddenly the whole world went black as exhaustion and pain won the battle on her body. She collapsed among the branches and fell into unconsciousness, somehow grateful for the little bit of peace.

* * *

"Lucy!" screamed Wyatt as he was scanning the forest, eyes searching for anything that might give him a clue that Lucy had walked in the same path: footsteps, fabric from her dress, blood, anything.

"Lucy!" he repeated as he could hear in echo other agents calling the woman's name.

At first he thought that Lucy's escape was a good thing. That she was probably not far away and that they'd find her rapidly. However, they had now been in the forest for close to an hour and she wasn't answering to any of their calls. He worried that she was hurt. After all, judging by the shape of the man they had found in the cabin, if their altercation hadn't gone well, he could have very well hurt her too.

"Lucy!" he called once again desperation clear in his voice.

Suddenly, something caught his eye. Hidden among the branches and the green of the forest, a small patch of pink, hard to see at first sight. The same shade of pink than Lucy's dress had been when they left for 1929.

"Lucy!" he called this time more desperately, hoping to hear her respond.

He ran towards her direction, branches scratching at his face but he didn't care. His heart accelerated at every step as he was getting closer to Lucy. When he saw her his heart stopped.

She was lying unconscious on the ground, her dress ripped in front, showing more cleavage than he knew Lucy was comfortable with, bruises forming on her neck as if someone had tried to strangle her, dried blood on her temple, her white skin colored with dark bruises. Slowly, Wyatt kneeled next to her and reached shakily for her wrist, checking her pulse. At first the coldness of her skin scared him to death until he felt it, the small fluttering of pumping blood.

"Oh thank god!" he exhaled as tears filled his eyes.

"I found her!" he cried to the opened sky, knowing that someone would hear him and that they'd come as fast as they could.

"Oh Lucy," he whispered, turning his attention back to the historian, cupping her pale cheek in his right hand, letting a single tear run down his cheek.

She didn't stir at all at his touch and it was another thing that worried Wyatt. What had they done to her in that place?

"I need help!" cried Wyatt once more, hoping the agents would locate him soon and help him get Lucy to the road where an ambulance was waiting for her ever since their arrival.

Agent Christopher was the first to arrive and she stopped dead in her tracks when she saw Wyatt kneeling next to the still body of Lucy Preston.

"Is she…" she began grimly, not knowing how to ask.

"No, she has a pulse, but it's not really strong. We have to take her to the hospital," Wyatt answered, brushing strays of hair from Lucy's pale face.

With the help of two other agents, they were able to move Lucy to the road and bring her to the ambulance, careful not to move her too much since they didn't know the extent of her injuries. During the whole ride to the hospital, Wyatt kept Lucy's hand in his, running shooting circle on the back of her hand with his thumb and he prayed. He wasn't a religious man, but that day he felt like he needed to believe in something. He needed to believe that everything would turn out okay.


	13. Waking Up

**_Hello everyone!_**

 ** _Sorry for the delay, school had me soooo busy!_**

 ** _Here is chapter 13, which is longer than usual. It was originally two chapters that I joined in one because I thought that it was deserved after such a long wait!_**

 ** _I hope you'll enjoy and please review! It is so motivating to read your kind words!_**

 ** _Chapter 13: Waking up_**

As they arrived to the hospital, Wyatt saw through the tiny window of the ambulance that doctors were already waiting for them outside the doors of the emergency department. As soon as the vehicle stopped, the doors opened and before he had time to register anything, Lucy was rolled away down the hall and into a restricted area. He wanted to run and stay with her, but a nurse kept him away.

"Sir, sir you can't go in there, this is a trauma room," explained the short woman, blocking him the access to where Lucy had been taken.

"But I- I need to, I have to be with her," Wyatt tried looking desperately at the nurse who didn't cede. She had seen this too many times, people terrified for their loved-ones.

"I'm sorry sir, but you have to let the doctors work. They'll take good care of her I promise you," she said putting a comforting hand on his forearm.

Wyatt simply ran his hands through his hair and inhaled sharply before plumping on a plastic chair in the waiting area. He knew that by barging through the trauma doors he would only disturb the doctors. The best he could do was to wait.

Some people who had witnessed his altercation with the nurse shot him supportive smiles. The man next to him, an old man with white hair that reminded him slightly of his grandfather, turned to talk to him, setting aside his crosswords puzzle;

"I'm sure your girlfriend is gonna be alright son," the man told him with sympathy

"If I'm not too intrusive, may I ask what happened to her?" he continued.

Wyatt sighed, not knowing if he could tell those things. He decided to go with it since the man was probably going to be the only bit of support he'd get until agent Christopher arrived, "She, hum, she was kidnapped and sequestered for a week…" Wyatt trailed off.

The man was clearly not awaiting that kind of answer and had difficulties supressing his expression of surprise, "I'm sorry son, I'm glad you found her," he simply said with a genuine comforting tap of the shoulder.

"Thank you, I was so scared you know," Wyatt continued, feeling relieved to be able to confide into someone. All he needed in the moment was to talk. To let his emotions out. It was all too much, almost crushing him. If Rufus had been there he would have talked to him, but his friend was currently chasing the very man responsible of everything, which Wyatt was really grateful for. It was good to know that there was someone out there defending Lucy.

"I can only imagine," nodded the man.

"He hurt her, a lot, the man who took her and I just feel guilty. If I had been there… We separated ways one day and she just never came back. If I hadn't gone my own way…" Wyatt pondered, shaking his head.

"Son, you can't do this. If you want to help your girlfriend, really help her, you can't feel that guilt. She needs all your attention, it can't be split between her wellbeing and your guilt. And you have no reason to feel that way. You're not the guy who kidnapped her," the old man said in a gentle voice.

Wyatt let a tear escape, "I know… I just wish I could change things. She didn't deserve this,"

"If people could time travel and change the past things would sure be different," answered the man, unaware of the irony of his words "But we can't and we have to accept the things we can't change and concentrate on the ones we can. Like you need to concentrate on helping your girlfriend get better instead of dwelling on what you should have done," he continued with wisdom.

"Thank you," Wyatt said simply to the old man with a sad smile, "May I ask why you are here yourself?" he added.

"Ah you see, it's my wife, she should be alright, but she wouldn't stop coughing the last few days. I dragged her here practically with force," he chuckled, "I swear that woman is the stubbornest on earth! Anyway, I would hate for her to catch something bad,"

"You did well," nodded Wyatt.

For a long time, he had thought that the old man and his wife were going to be him and Jessica when they'd get old. Somehow, life had decided against it and he had spent four years being mad at everyone for it. He thought he would never feel the same way again and he didn't want to. But Lucy… She had changed everything. Wyatt knew that Jessica wouldn't want him to spend his whole life alone, but it was hard to accept that she was the past, a memory. Lucy helped him come to terms with this a little more every day. Her disappearance had only reminded Wyatt of how precious time was and that he shouldn't waist it anymore. If she was okay, no, when she would be okay, Wyatt decided that he would waist no more time and he would tell her how he felt.

"Mister Thomas?" asked a nurse stepping into the waiting room.

The old man beside Wyatt turned to him and extended his hand to shake, "That's me. They must have news about my wife. I will pray for your girlfriend son. What's her name?"

"Lucy" Wyatt answered, not bothering to correct the man about his status with Lucy.

"I'll pray for Lucy," repeated the man, shaking Wyatt's hand before following the nurse down the hall, leaving Wyatt alone with his thoughts.

He sat there for a long time, thoughts jumping from Jessica, to Lucy, to Flynn and so much more, like he had been doing a lot in the last weeks.

Agent Christopher arrived after half an hour, jarring Wyatt from his thoughts.

"Wyatt!" she called as she spotted him in the waiting room, looking aimlessly at the wall.

"Wyatt I'm so sorry if I'm late, I just received a call in the car. It's over Wyatt. Rufus caught Flynn," she said with a smile.

"What?" he asked in disbelief, standing up slowly as if any sudden movements would shatter everything.

"Yeah, apparently Rufus made some friends with the slaves in 1790 and told them what Flynn had done to one of his friends. They all agreed to help him. In the middle of the night they appeared where he was hidden and there were so many of them that Flynn wasn't able to escape. Rufus shot him with tranquilizers and was able to bring him back to us," she explained in a breath.

Wyatt let out a sigh of relief. Never in his life had he felt more gratitude than he now felt for Rufus, "Garcia Flynn has to pay," he said through clenched teeth, looking at his superior for confirmation.

"I promise you Wyatt that he will," she replied, "Have you gotten any news on Lucy's state?" she inquired.

Just as Wyatt was about to open his mouth to answer to agent Christopher, a middle-age woman doctor appeared and called for them, "People for Lucy Preston?"

Wyatt was next to her instantly and looked at the doctor expectantly, "Come on follow me into the conference room, we'll be more quiet," she said.

Wyatt followed her, heart about to explode. The doctor didn't look like she was about to give any bad news, yet she was guiding them to a private conference room, did that mean it was bad?

Palms sweating, Wyatt took place at the table of the conference and waited with anxiety for the news about Lucy's state.

"Lucy went under a lot in the last week," started the doctor, "She's stable for now and should be fine, but the rehabilitation will take some time," she explained, "She has severe head trauma from multiple blows to the head, three ribs and an arm broken, she suffered from an attempted strangulation, was highly dehydrated and malnourished, plus she has multiple bruises that will take some time to heal," she continued.

"Was she…" Wyatt started with a shaking voice, "Hum… when I found her, her dress was torn and…" he trailed off not knowing how to ask.

"The rape kit came back negative, but some of the bruises indicate that there might have been some struggling yes," said the doctor.

Wyatt sighed, "Oh god… Can I go see her?" he asked running his hands through his hair.

"Yeah of course, but we'll keep her sedated for the next 24 hours or so. Don't worry if she doesn't wake up yet. It will help her recuperate a little faster," explained the doctor.

* * *

Wyatt took a deep breath before entering Lucy's hospital room. Mason's industry had offered to pay for a private room for Lucy, which Wyatt was grateful for. It was after all the least they could do. She needed peace to heal.

When he opened the door, his heart clenched at her pale form asleep in the giant bed. She had a cast on her right arm and stitches on her temple. She was covered in bruises and the most recent ones had only darkened, especially that nasty one around her neck.

Wyatt clenched his fists together, trying to supress his urge to hit something. This wasn't fair. Lucy hadn't done anything to deserve this.

Slowly, he approached her bed and took her left hand in his carefully, as if he was afraid to break her. Yet, he knew Lucy was the opposite of fragile after everything she had went through and how she had managed to escape on her own. The woman really was something. She wasn't a trained soldier, had never been put into situations as risky, but she had managed so incredibly. She was a fighter, and that gave Wyatt hope that she'd end up alright. No matter how much time it would take, he was ready to be there for her every step of the way.

Wyatt rubbed soft circles on the back of Lucy's hand and she didn't even stir at his touch. Wyatt had to repeat over and over in his head that it was because of the sedation and that she was fine. He had a hard time shaking of the image of her laying in the forest with all her bruises. He would need time to convince himself that Lucy was finally safe. She wasn't out of the woods yet with all her injuries, but at least no one would touch her anymore!

He spent hours in the chair next to her bed, holding her left hand and running his thumb along the back of her hand in a shooting manner. His thoughts jumped from Jessica, to Lucy over and over again. He was realizing how much Lucy was an important part of his life now. He couldn't imagine himself living without her anymore and that scared him a lot. What scared him even more was how close he had been to losing her completely. What if she hadn't managed to escape? What if that henchman had been much farther than he had?

"Hey…" said Rufus softly from the door.

When Wyatt saw him, he all but jumped into the arms of his friend and teammate. It was over. Rufus had stopped Flynn for good. He was going to spend the rest of his sorry life in jail, paying for all the damage he had done.

"Rufus," Wyatt's voice cracked as he stood up and encircle his friend in a hug, patting him on the back, "Thank you Rufus!" he repeated as a single tear rolled down his cheek.

"We got him Wyatt, Flynn's going to pay for what he did to Lucy," said Rufus noticing for the first time in what shape the woman was. "Oh my god," said Rufus slowly approaching Lucy's bed, "How is she?" he asked turning towards Wyatt.

"It's bad," said Wyatt before enumerating every of Lucy's injuries to their colleague.

"Poor Lucy," Rufus replied before looking more carefully at Wyatt, "Have you eaten since this morning?" he suddenly asked as he took in Wyatt's pale face and dark circles under his eyes.

"No, I-I don't want to leave her again…" Wyatt answered.

"Okay, I'll go get you something," Rufus said before once again leaving Wyatt alone with Lucy.

* * *

The next morning, when Wyatt woke up, he was confused for a long time. He soon realized he had fallen asleep in the hospital chair, Lucy's hand still in his and his head resting on her bed next to their intertwined hands.

He stretched his back and rubbed the sleep from his eyes before looking at Lucy to find her exactly like the night before. Wyatt knew he was actually not supposed to sleep at the hospital and was really grateful for the staff who had allowed him to stay.

As much as Wyatt didn't want to leave Lucy's side, he knew he had too when he felt his stomach grumble and his dry mouth, the meal Rufus had brought him eaten since long. Reluctantly, he headed towards he cafeteria to buy a breakfast with coffee that he planned on eating at Lucy's bedside.

* * *

Lucy was feeling like her eyes were as heavy as leads and like a truck had run her over. She didn't know where she was and felt really confused… Had she received a blow to the head on or her last mission? Or had she hit her head while being clumsy again?

Suddenly, it came back in a wave: Flynn abducting her in New-York's streets, the hits, Chuck, his hands everywhere under her dress, his lips on hers. Lucy woke up with a gasp opening her eyes wildly and looking everywhere in panic as she started to hyperventilate. Where was she? Was Chuck close? She wondered eyes scanning the room but not really seeing anything.

A nurse saw her through the windows and came almost running into her room, trying to calm Lucy, "Miss, you're alright, you're alright, you're at the hospital,"

"Where… How…" Lucy said with a hoarse voice, her throat hurting from when Chuck had try to strangle her as she went into a coughing fit.

The nurse started to rub her back in comfort, handing her a cup of water for her dry throat.

"The police found you, officers are guarding your room," explained the young woman to whom agent Christopher had told the majority of the story, omitting the time travel part, thinking, with reason, that it might be a little too overwhelming.

"When?" Lucy managed to ask after taking a long gulp of water.

"Yesterday afternoon," she answered before adding: "Your friend hasn't left your bedside ever since except a couple of minutes ago to get breakfast,"

"Friend?" Lucy asked confused.

"Yes, a tall man with blue eyes who seems to care greatly about you," she said with a smile.

Wyatt. Lucy thought. How was it possible? He had abandoned her hadn't he? No more than a couple of days after her disappearance he already had her replaced with Anna. What was he doing here? Maybe he felt bad now that she had been found and wanted to appease his conscience? No… Wyatt was a good guy, maybe Flynn had lied to her? But that picture… Lucy didn't know what to think anymore. If Wyatt really cared about her, why did he went on that mission Anna? Why didn't he try to find her? She just wanted him in that cell, but he didn't come. If he thought that she would forgive him that easily, he was wrong!

"I don't want to see him," Lucy replied coldly with a hoarse voice.

"If I may ask, why Miss?" the nurse replied, clearly surprised.

"I-I don't want to see him, or anyone else," she said firmly, before looking away.

The nurse simply nodded, even though she was confused as to why she didn't want to see someone as kind as the young man who had spent all his time with her. Yet she obliged, her patient's wishes being her priority.

When Wyatt came back, he was surprised to see Lucy's eyes opened through the window of her room. Almost dropping his breakfast in the process, he all but ran towards her room as fast as he could.

But the nurse stopped him in doorway, blocking the entrance "I just want to see her, I'll talk to you after," said Wyatt trying to get past her, thinking she wanted to inform him of Lucy's medical condition. As much as he cared, it was the last thing in his mind right now. What he really wanted, needed, was to talk to Lucy.

"I'm sorry Sir, but Miss Preston asked for no one to enter her room," apologized the young nurse.

"What, it must be a mistake," said Wyatt not believing what he had just heard.

"I'm sorry, she really doesn't want to see anyone and we have to respect our patients wishes," she added.

"But…" started Wyatt before catching Lucy's eyes. He shot her a desperate look and she simply looked away, trying to stop her tears.

"What…" he trailed off not understanding what was happening, "I have to be there for her, she's probably just scared, I'll talk to her," Wyatt tried once more.

"I'm really sorry sir. We have police officers guarding her room because of the circumstances if you're afraid for her safety, but I can't let you enter," she said on a final tone, gesturing for him to the waiting room.

Reluctantly, Wyatt obliged and walked to the waiting room where he plumped on the same plastic chair he had been sitting the day before, taking his head in his hands. What had just happened? Lucy was awake and she didn't want to see him, why? What had Flynn done to her to make her act that way? It must be Flynn's fault, it always was. Wyatt decided it was well time to pay the man a visit.

 _ **Here! Chapter 13! I hope you don't hate me for Lucy's reaction. I had a hard time trying to write it because it felt a little out of character on Lucy's part, but I really wanted too because of where I want to take the story next. I hope you'll forgive me ;)**_

 _ **Don't forget to review!**_


	14. Visiting Flynn

**Hi everyone!**

 **First of all, thanks to the people who review this story! I'm really glad that some of you like it.**

 **I fear that I'm starting to lose some of you with the lack of Lucy and Wyatt's interaction so I want to specify that next chapter Lucy and Wyatt are finally going to talk to each other and I'll try to post it in one or two days! Yeah!**

 **This chapter is short but I really needed it to have a closure on Wyatt's feelings.**

 **I hope you still appreciate it!**

 **Chapter 14: Visiting Flynn**

Wyatt arrived at the San Francisco County Jail a couple of hours after leaving Lucy alone in her room. He had called agent Christopher first to obtain her permission to pay Garcia Flynn a visit. She had allowed it after he explained his motives, understanding why Wyatt needed answers. She was as perplex as him to learn that Lucy didn't want to see anyone, especially Wyatt, and was more than willing to help him understand the whole situation.

The San Francisco County Jail was dark and cold and somehow it comforted Wyatt to know that at least the man was paying for his crimes, even if it wasn't enough according to him. Garcia Flynn deserved much worst for what he had done. But Wyatt wasn't about to get as low then he had. Seeking revenge was the last thing he needed to do. Never would he forgive himself if he'd become the slightest similar to Flynn.

Wyatt entered the center and was soon welcomed by an agent at the front desk who registered his name and his request before motioning for him to sit down in the waiting area. Minutes later, he was escorted by security guards who made him pass through a security check that was facilitated by his sergeant rank and a phone called passed by Agent Christopher.

Wyatt was guided through a lot of different hallways and passed by many doors until the guard escorting him stopped and let him enter in a small room with no windows where Garcia Flynn was waiting for him in an orange jumpsuit, hands in handcuffs bounded to table, which reminded Wyatt of Lucy's bleeding wrists and ankles.

"When they told me I had visit I had a feeling that it would be you. I have an idea of why you'd want to see me," started Flynn with a sigh, looking down at his lap.

"Really?" Wyatt asked with a provocative tone, pacing around the room instead of sitting down in the chair in front of Flynn.

"I didn't want to hurt her…" he trailed off looking down and placing his hands on his lap, nervously tucking at his orange suit.

Wyatt laughed coldly, "You didn't want to hurt her? You didn't want to hurt her!" he yelled, which led the security guard to peek in the room, making sure that nothing bad was happening. Wyatt quickly reassured him and he let them alone once again.

Wyatt calmed down and stopped pacing, "Have you seen her? She almost died," Wyatt's voice caught as he realized for the first time how close it really had been and he had to lean on the wall to take some time to regain his composure.

"It wasn't my intention… I just want my daughter and wife back," Flynn said softly.

"Well you are not going to get them back by kidnapping other's people loved-ones!" replied Wyatt with anger, not realizing he had called Lucy his loved-one.

"I know…" Flynn sighed, "I was just a desperate man, trying desperate things,"

"You have no excuses for what you did! No matter what humble reason there was behind your actions, they are still despicable!" said Wyatt with a look of pure disdain.

"Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same thing if you knew who your wife's killer was?" Flynn asked raising his eyebrows.

Wyatt opened his mouth, hesitating briefly before a look certitude graced his features, "No I wouldn't. As much as I loved and will continue to love my wife, I would never hurt other people to get her back. She'd be disgusted with me and I'd be disgusted with myself. I thought about it. I really did. And I was convinced for a long time that when I'd get the chance to avenge her death that I would do it. It was my motivation to accept this time traveling job in the first place. But seeing you, how it transformed you, how you hurt people, I realized that I never want to become that, it would tarnish Jessica's name. I think that the best way to honor my wife's memory is to continue to love her, to make sure that no one forgets how great she was, not to kill in her name,"

Flynn was silent for a few moments, tears coming to his eyes as he thought about everything he had lost and for a second Wyatt felt bad for him. Deep down he wasn't a bad man. He had just been broken beyond repair, but it would never excuse what he had done.

"I'm sorry," simply sighed Flynn and it felt genuine.

"If you're really sorry, you're going to help me then," said Wyatt firmly, "Why the hell does Lucy doesn't want to see me, or anyone?" he asked.

Flynn adverted Wyatt's gazed.

"Why?" Wyatt repeated more insistently.

"I might have shown her a picture of you, Rufus and Anna, and told her you had replaced her," Flynn explained.

"What? Why would she believe such a thing? It was just a picture!" Wyatt replied.

"Because think about it Wyatt. She was alone for days in that place with no signs that anyone was looking for her. The only news she gets about her team is that they are on a mission with someone else. She was beaten, malnourished and hurt. She wasn't really herself. She wasn't the confident and brave Lucy you know because we messed with her head. This was enough to break her," Flynn explained with true remorse. He did really felt bad for his actions. His anger towards the murder of his family had transformed him into someone else. Someone he wasn't proud of. He did regret hurting Lucy, he had been too blinded by the possibility of getting his family back.

"But why make her believe this? I don't understand…" asked Wyatt.

"I thought that if she lost faith in you and she was scared of me, she'd might be willing to help me in future missions in exchange for her liberty. If she had still believed in you, she would have never wanted to team up with me. She would have waited for you to come and save her," he answered.

Wyatt ran his hands through his hair. That was it then, the reason why Lucy didn't want to see him. She had been brainwashed into thinking that everyone had abandoned her. It was only normal for her to not want to see the people who had left her alone with Flynn. If she only knew how much everyone had put their energy into finding her. It was now Wyatt's job to make sure she knew.

It wasn't in Lucy's character to act like that, to believe such things, but given the context, anyone would have probably reacted the same way. Wyatt just needed to help Lucy get back to the person she was: strong and confident.


	15. The Explanation

**Hello everyone!**

 **Sorry it's been awhile since my last update. When I read what I had written I didn't really like it so I tried to rewrite this whole chapter. I'm still not a hundred percent happy, but I don't know anymore how to make it better.**

 **I hope you still enjoy and thank you as always for the reviews!**

 **Chapter 15: The Explanation**

Wyatt spent many hours in the waiting room of the hospital, sitting in a chair with a view to Lucy's hospital room. He kept his face hidden behind a large black hood as if he was a family member sleeping while waiting to see his loved-one, but really he observed the security guards' movements until he memorized every single one to try to use that in his advantage. He got so familiar with the rounds they were doing that he found the perfect moment to sneak in Lucy's room. All he had to do was to sneak in during the change of shifts, when the two guards took a couple of minutes to talk to each other, back turned to the south hallway, where he would come from. Now all he needed was to find a way to distract the nurses at the station in order to really be able to enter Lucy's room without anyone seeing him.

He also observed Lucy for a while. He could see her through the window of her room since the curtains weren't closed, the staff wanting to keep an eye on her in case anything happened. She was still pretty vulnerable and slept most of the time, but when she was awake she looked lost. It broke Wyatt's heart to see her like that and to see her wince in pain at the tiniest movement.

He finally figured a plan out with Rufus whom he had called for some help. They were a team since the beginning and right now they needed to help each other out.

"So I'm going to make a scene and while the guards will escort me out, you enter. Are we good?" asked Rufus passing their plan in revue.

"Perfect," answered Wyatt, impatient to finally see Lucy, tell her the truth, hold her hand and keep her safe forever.

Their plan worked perfectly, and in a couple of minutes Wyatt was closing the door of Lucy's room, leaving behind Rufus who was fighting with the nurses about not having the right to visit Lucy. The guards were distracted by the scene and it gave him time to sneak in. Lucy, since she was asleep, was completely unaware of the scene that was unfolding in front of her room.

Wyatt closed the curtains carefully to make sure that no one would see him and then tried to wake Lucy up.

As soon as her eyes open and she saw Wyatt hovering over her, Lucy sat up in her bed, with a gasp of pain at the sudden movement, "What are you doing here?" she asked as she tried to get a hold of the red emergency cord next to her bed which Wyatt saw and took out of her reach, putting a hand in front of him to try to calm Lucy down.

"Wyatt, stop! Get out of my room!" Lucy cried. She didn't want him to stay. She didn't want to hear what excuses he had. He had abandoned her and she wasn't ready to forgive him. She was completely capable of doing fine on her own, she didn't need his help just so he could feel less guilty. He had been so mad when he discovered that she was hiding stuff from him and it had taken a lot of talking to have him forgive her. Now he was expecting her to not care about what had happened? How? She knew she was generous, but she was tired of giving and helping everyone out without people helping her out in return when she needed them. She had trusted Wyatt and Rufus with her life and it hadn't turn well at all!

"Lucy, Lucy, please, hear me out! I went to see Flynn," he started.

"Get out!" Lucy repeated coldly.

"Flynn told me what he did, make you believe that we had replaced you. It's not true Lucy I swear!" he said taking her face in both his hands to force her to look at him.

Lucy stopped fighting Wyatt for a moment, the look in his eyes making her want to believe him. Really. But she could still feel the hurt she had felt when she saw that picture. How lonely she had been in that cell. How hopeless she had felt! The pain, the hunger, the hands of Chuck, everywhere under her dress, his lips on hers, on her neck, her breasts.

Her vision was blurry because of the tears that filled her eyes. She didn't know what to think anymore. Her mind was spinning with thoughts. The rational part in her wanted to believe Wyatt. Why believe the man who had kidnapped her after all? Wyatt had always been kind to her. If he really had abandoned her, he wouldn't be there, trying to gain her trust back would he? But the fear she had felt and the loneliness still crept in her head, shutting down her voice of reason and her breath became ragged.

What was happening with her? She used to be so confident. If she could walk through the battle of the Alamo and convince Wyatt that he was worth something, how come she couldn't convince herself?

Her silence was an encouragement for Wyatt and he seized the opportunity to convince her more, "I almost lost my mind trying to find you Lucy. And I almost punched Mason's face when he told me he had hired Anna, but then he explained me why. She helped us stop Flynn and she helped us trying to find you. She cares about you Lucy. We all care about you Lucy,"

Lucy then remembered all the nights spent with Anna, talking about their hopes and fears with Amy. She had been there for her when she learned about her mother's cancer, replaced her every time she needed to take a morning off to bring her mother to the doctor. It was another timeline, but what Lucy had learned was that even though people appeared or vanished, the ones who stayed always stayed true to themselves. She couldn't imagine Anna hurting her. And Wyatt would never hurt either realized Lucy as she was finally able to think logically.

She looked at Wyatt intently before asking with a small voice, "Did you really try to find me?"

Wyatt winced inwardly at Lucy's lack of trust and confidence. What Flynn had done to her was horrible. Not only had he hurt her physically, but she was also scarred mentally. Flynn had made out of the courageous woman she was, a scared girl who didn't esteem herself anymore.

"Of course I did Lucy. It was really hard. We didn't know in what year you were, nor where. When Flynn sent us those videos," he started before being interrupted by Lucy.

"Videos? What videos?" she asked.

Wyatt didn't know if he should answer her. How would Lucy react knowing that everyone had seen her in her most vulnerable moments?

"Wyatt, please," she pleaded and Wyatt sighed, knowing it wasn't fair to keep her in the dark, not after everything she went through.

"Flynn sent us videos of when his henchman beat you," he said his voice breaking as Lucy gasped.

"Oh…" she said looking ashamedly in her lap.

"Lucy, hey," he said seating next to her on the bed and tilting her chin up, "What Flynn did to you is horrible. But you shouldn't be ashamed of it! None of it was your fault!"

"I just feel so dirty and weak," said Lucy rubbing at her arms as if she'd take off imaginary dirt.

Wyatt took both her hands in his, "You're the strongest woman I ever met Lucy Preston. That video doesn't change a thing. It just proves how strong you are. To go through everything you went through and escape on your own, it simply is amazing," said Wyatt.

"Did you really see everything?" Lucy asked, fearing that Wyatt had seen her with Chuck. What would he think of her if he knew she had let Chuck kiss her? Hadn't been strong enough to fight him?

"Well, we saw that henchman hit and kick you," said Wyatt softly as shivers ran down his spine, the images of Lucy being hurt still fresh in his mind, "Did anything else happened?" he asked fearfully as Lucy breathed out a sigh of relief at the idea that Wyatt didn't know about Chuck.

"No, no nothing else," Lucy said, adverting his gaze. Then Wyatt remembered the henchman, unconscious at the bottom of the stairs with a bullet in his leg and Lucy's dress torn in the front.

"Lucy…" he started, "What else happened?"

She looked at him with tears in her eyes, "He was strong and I was hurt and I tried to push him off, and I did, but… He touched me and and kissed me," she rambled frantically, closing her eyes at the memories.

Wyatt went to touch Lucy gently on the shoulder but she jumped out of his touch and he apologized immediately, "I'm sorry Luce, I didn't want to scare you…. I…." he trailed off.

"I was just so scared Wyatt, and alone" cried Lucy, "And I feel so dirty," she added once again rubbing at her arms as good as she could with her cast.

"You have no need to feel that way Luce," Wyatt said once again using Lucy's new nickname with both of them not saying anything about it, "None of it was your fault, plus you pushed him away. You have no idea how proud of you I am. Even though I would have loved to find you before any of this happened, I was so proud when I arrived at the cabin and found out you had escape! You're the strongest person I know Lucy," he added.

Lucy was about to reply when the door to her room opened, revealing the nurse who had stopped Wyatt from entering the very same room the day before. "What are you doing here Sir?" she asked clearly annoyed, "I will have to call security, you know you are not allowed in that room!" she stated.

"It's alright," said Lucy, "I want him to stay if it's okay?" she asked the nurse who smiled softly at her.

"If it's what you want Lucy it's alright with me," she answered before turning to Wyatt, "Just make sure she gets lot of rest. If she wants to leave soon she needs to be better," she explained before leaving the room.

As she was closing the door, Wyatt suddenly remembered something really important, "Rufus!" he cried out and both the nurse and Lucy looked at him in confusion.

"The man who caused a scene, I asked him to do so in order to sneak in and see Lucy," Wyatt explained at which the nurse and Lucy chuckled.

"Well in that case I'll tell the security to let him go," laughed the nurse before really leaving them alone.


	16. Returning Home

**Hello everyone!**

 **Chapter 16 is ready for you today! The story is coming to an end soon and I hope you'll enjoy it as much as you did in the first chapters!**

 **As always, thanks to the people who review!**

 **Chapter 16: Returning home**

"Come on! You can do it!" said Wyatt to Lucy as he stood at the other end of the hospital hallway, waiting for her to make steps by herself towards him. He had spent the last few days at the hospital, taking care of Lucy and helping her getting better. Walking that hallway by herself was the last thing she needed to prove before being discharged. The doctors wanted one last proof that she was strong enough to go home and Wyatt hoped she would be able to do so.

He watched her as she took baby steps, still weak from the week of malnutrition and abuse she had suffered. Her ribs still hurt when she took big breaths or laugh and she couldn't use her right arm that was in a cast, but she was better. Some of the bruises were starting to fade event though the nastier ones were still dark blue. She was eating more every day and she slept less, which was a win for Wyatt.

"That's it! You're almost done," cheered Wyatt as he saw Lucy only a couple of steps from him, a broad smile gracing her features.

Finally, she was holding his hands, having crossed the whole distance that separated them at the beginning of the exercise. Her doctor congratulated her and told her that he was going to sign for her to be discharge the same day. At his words Lucy's smile faded for a couple of seconds, not enough for the doctor to see, but Wyatt did. When Dr. Tran left, Wyatt turned to Lucy; "Aren't you happy to be going home Luce?" he asked, looking at her tenderly.

Lucy sighed, "Yeah, of course!" she lied with fake enthusiasm, adverting Wyatt's gaze.

"Come on, what is it? You can tell me everything," he reminded her.

Lucy hesitated briefly, not wanting to burden Wyatt any more than she already had, but eventually she knew she had no other choice. He would have pressed her until he'd knew anyway, "It's just… My mom still on her trip and she doesn't know about what happened, which is good, but I guess I'm just afraid to be alone…" Lucy trailed off, "I know everyone volunteered to visit me every day, but I'm scared of sleeping alone," she admitted shamefully.

"Oh Luce! You should have said something! I won't let you alone if you're not comfortable," said Wyatt softly.

"No, it's alright, I don't want to be a bother," she said with a shrug.

"Come on Lucy! I spent days hoping to have you next to me again. Now that you're here, do you really think I feel like leaving you again? I was actually hoping you'd ask me to stay with you, I'd be less worried. I just didn't want to make you feel forced to accept my help," replied Wyatt.

"Really?" she asked chewing at her bottom lip, an habit she had gained since her kidnapping that appeared whenever she lacked confidence and doubted herself.

"Really," he confirmed looking directly in her eyes.

"Okay, I have to admit that I would love not to be alone," she finally admitted and Wyatt smiled. As much as he wished Lucy would still be the confident and independent young woman she was days ago, he was relieved to know that he'd be there the following week or more to protect her from anything.

"It's settled then, I'm going to live with you, Miss Preston, for the next days," he said, ignoring the jump his heart made when he pronounced those words, imagining how it would be to live with Lucy for real.

Days ago, Wyatt had promised himself that when he'd see Lucy again, he would tell her how he felt about her. However, with everything that she had went through, Wyatt sadly had to admit that now was not the time. She was still scared, had nightmares and jumped every time someone, especially men, took her by surprise. The only things she managed were for Wyatt or Rufus to hold her hands or hug her. One time Wyatt had try to brush a stray of hair from her face while she was eating in her bed and he still felt bad about it; he had taken her by surprise and she had flinched away from him in a sudden movement that had her bump her side into the smile bed table, hurting her in the process and dropping her plate to the floor.

For the time being, Wyatt was okay with taking his distance. It hurt him to know how much Flynn's actions had broken Lucy, but he hoped that with time he would be able to help her heal.

They packed Lucy's room that was full of flowers, chocolate boxes and magazines brought by Jiya, Rufus, agent Christopher and even Mason, and they were finally ready to leave. According to the hospital policy, and despite Lucy's protests, Wyatt rolled Lucy out of the building and to his car into a rolling chair. Even though she protested for the first half of the distance, she got silent after a while and Wyatt could tell that she was glad she wasn't walking. She might have been able to cross the entire hallway the same morning, but she was still weak.

He helped her into his car before driving them both at his house to pack a few things for the next days: clothes, pajamas, toothbrush, shampoo, etc. He didn't take a lot of time since Lucy was waiting for him in the car and he didn't want to let her alone for too long. Flynn and his men were all in jail, but he was still worried every time Lucy wasn't in his sight.

Once he had everything, he got back to his car and drove Lucy and he to her house, well her mom's house where she lived ever since her break up with Noah. They were lucky that Lucy's mother was still on her trip for conferences for the next month because they didn't know how on earth they could have explained the situation to her mother.

They arrived at her house ten minutes later and Wyatt helped Lucy inside under, she was sure even though she didn't check, the gaze of her neighbour, the old Miss Johnson. She lived alone and loved to spend time in her rocking chair, gazing out the windows and surveying everybody's life. Lucy just hoped that the old lady wouldn't tell her mother about what she had seen.

They decided to install Lucy comfortably in the guest room, since it was situated on the main floor. Wyatt would be taking the couch in the living room. Lucy had offered him her own room, but Wyatt refused. The second floor was too far to be there as fast as he wanted if anything happened.

When Lucy entered the guest room, she let out a sigh of relief. She was finally home, safe. Flynn and his men were in jail. They were going to pay for their crimes and she was safe as long as Wyatt stayed with her.

Wyatt… He was so kind to her. How come she still felt uncomfortable every time someone got too close to her, even Wyatt? She hated it. She wished she'd get better soon.

"So, what do you want for diner?" asked Wyatt as he entered Lucy's room, leaning on the door frame.

Lucy smiled at him, "Honestly, vegetable soup,"

"Vegetable soup? Don't you want anything more fancy?" he chuckled.

"No, when I was there…" she stopped to take a deep breath, "It was so cold and I was so hungry, the only thing I wished for was to be curled up in my pajamas again and eat my mom's vegetable soup," she replied with a sad smile.

"I'm not your mom, but I can try. I will make you all the vegetable soup you want," he said with a comforting smile before disappearing down the hallway and towards the kitchen.

* * *

After diner, Wyatt ushered Lucy to the living room couch while he was washing the dishes. It surprised him when Lucy didn't put on a fight and instead just let herself being guided to the sofa, not looking at him and seeming lost deep in thoughts. At first Wyatt thought she was just tired from her long day. But he had been observing her for some time, turning to shoot her a glance between each plate, and he could sense something was wrong. She was sitting on the edge of the couch, looking down at her lap and fidgeting. Something was up with Lucy and he didn't know what it was.

He dried the last plate and emptied the sink before joining Lucy on the sofa, sitting next to her and looking at her intently. She still refused to meet his gaze.

"Lucy," he began, "What's the matter?" he asked gently while she stubbornly kept looking at the floor without so much as acknowledging him.

"Luce," he repeated taking her hand in his, stopping her from fidgeting and making her tense, "You can tell me anything," he told her even though she already knew.

She looked at him with tears in her eyes, "I…" she started before trailing off and Wyatt squeezed her hand to encourage her.

"I… I just, I would like to… bathe," she finally blurted it out before taking her gaze back to her lap.

"Okay," said Wyatt simply not understanding what was the problem.

Lucy knew from the tone of his voice that he didn't understand why it took everything from her to admit this. She sighed before explaining herself and looking at him with a dark blush covering her cheeks, "I want to bathe Wyatt… but I c-can't undress myself because my ribs hurt too much and I can't use my right arm," she said looking at her lap once again in shame.

Wyatt's lips shaped a O as he finally realized what issue they were faced with. She didn't want him to touch her since it made her too uncomfortable, how were they going to manage that one?

"I can help you Luce," he said softly and she tensed.

"I know…" she started, "But I'm scared," she admitted, "I know it's stupid and that you won't hurt me, but the last person who tried to undress me…." She trailed off as images came back to her; a drunken Chuck tearing her dress and roaming his hands everywhere on her thighs and breasts.

"Hey… Lucy…" I'm going to help you, and if you get too scared, we'll stop. We'll take it one step at a time okay?" he suggested, trying to sound confidant while he was as stressed out as Lucy. With shame, he had to admit that he had spent some time imagining that moment in his mind. A day where Lucy would be his and he would love her and show her just how much, undressing her and kissing her. But what he was about to do was completely different. There was nothing romantic or sexual about what he had to do and he hoped that his past fantasies wouldn't get in the way.

"Okay…" Lucy answered with a sigh.

Wyatt stood up in front of her and offered her his hand. She took it and he guided her slowly to the bathroom. He went to the bathtub and started filling it with warm water before asking Lucy where were the towels and bath salts.

"I don't need bath salts Wyatt," replied Lucy not wanting to bother him anymore than she already was.

"Oh yes you do," answered Wyatt with a smile to which Lucy had no other choice than to oblige, showing him the cupboards under the sink where the bath supplies were stocked.

Once the bath was filled, a sweet aroma of lavender invading the room, the hard part began. Wyatt and Lucy just stood awkwardly in front of each other, not knowing where to begin.

"Okay," said Wyatt taking in a deep breath, "We can do awkward, but we won't. Lucy, I want you to know that I respect you and that I just want to help you. If you feel too uncomfortable, just tell me," he said.

"No…" she sighed, "Let's do this"

Wyatt took a small step towards Lucy and made her sit on the edge of the bathtub. He started by taking off the wool shirt she was wearing, cautious not to hurt her as he moved her casted arm out of the sleeves, and finally her head out of the head hole. Lucy sat in front of him only in her bra and she crossed her arms in front of her, trying to hide her battered body to Wyatt who sucked in a breath as he saw for the first time the real extent of her injuries. Big yellow, green and blue fading bruises swelled on her sides, other disappearing under her bra, probably covering her breasts, small cuts everywhere, her skin hugging her ribs from the weight she had lost, starving.

Lucy's eyes filled with tears and she said in a whisper, "Please look away, I'm hideous,"

Wyatt's heart broke. Was it really what she thought of his reaction? She was nothing but hideous! He was just shocked to really see how much she had suffered during the week she was kidnapped. And he was mad at himself for not being there to protect her, even if he knew it wasn't his fault.

"Lucy, look at me," he said sternly taking her chin in his hand, "You are nothing but hideous. What is hideous is that someone would do that to you!" he said his voice getting loud with anger, before adding in a soft manner; "You are beautiful Luce,"

Slowly, shakily, she uncrossed her arms while still looking into Wyatt's eyes and he took it as a small victory. She was trusting him. He continued undressing her gently until she was left in her underwear and she assured him that she could and wanted to do the rest. All he had to do was unclasp her bra and she'd take it off after he'd leave. He did what she wanted with shaking fingers and he left her alone in the bathroom, closing the door behind him, his heart racing from what he had just done.


	17. Nightmares

**Hello everyone!**

 **Wow… it's been a while! I hoped you didn't all lose interest in the story. It's almost finished. Only two or three chapters left.**

 **I wanted to publish this sooner. I really did, but I was stuck with a major writer block. Every time I'd write something I'd end up erasing it.**

 **I finally got it under control : )**

 **I hope you all like the new chapter!**

 **Please leave a review, I need to know if people are still interested in this story!**

 **Chapter 17: Nightmares**

That night, when Wyatt went to bed, he couldn't sleep. Every time he closed his eyes, he was assailed by million thoughts. He could still feel his heart racing from when he had undress Lucy. And when he had helped her get dressed too. He felt ashamed of the thoughts going on in his head every time he thought about Lucy's skin under his fingers. About how much he had just wanted to rip her off her clothes and kiss her everywhere. How could he have those thoughts when the very reason why Lucy was afraid of everything was because a man had had the same thoughts? A voice inside of him was telling him that it was not the same, that he, on the opposite, loved Lucy and respected her and would never do anything without her wanting to, but still. There was the other voice telling him what a monster he was for wanting Lucy to want him in the same way after everything she had endured.

So Wyatt wasn't able to sleep because of that inward battle he was fighting with his thoughts. He shifted once again on the living room couch he was sleeping on, before trying to close his eyes and think about something else, like how he should invite Anna the next day since she had left him text messages saying she wanted to see Lucy.

"Noooooo!" a loud scream broke the night's silence and Wyatt was on his feet instantly, running towards Lucy's room, his blood turning to ice at the sound of her.

"Get off me!" she added with a whimper as she screamed once again.

Fearing the worst, Wyatt opened the door to her room in one swift motion and looked around in alert. There was nobody there.

Lucy was in the bed, tossing and turning around, hair clinging to her forehead because of the sweat covering her. She was having a nightmare. She was safe, Wyatt realized and he let out a shaky breath, his heart getting back to its normal rhythm.

"Lucy," Wyatt called softly as he approached her bed, trying to wake her gently, his heart clenching at the vision of yet another consequence of her kidnapping.

She didn't wake up and let out another scream before hitting at empty air with her arm and Wyatt was afraid that she was going to hurt herself in the process. He sat on the bed and took her firmly but gently by the shoulders and tried to wake her up by saying her name, "Lucy! Wake up!" he repeated a couple of times before she finally stirred out of her dream and opened unfocused eyes, glancing everywhere in fear. Lucy finally focused on Wyatt and blushed a deep shade of crimson at the realization of what had just happened. But that was, she hoped, hidden by the darkness of the room.

"I'm sorry," Lucy said out of breath, sitting up in the bed as Wyatt looked at her with concern written all across his face. She was trying hard to put on a brave face but Wyatt could see her hands shake and her eyes still looked everywhere, as if she was still trying to convince herself that it was just a dream.

"Hey, no, never be sorry for something like that Luce," Wyatt said softly, before realizing he was still holding her and sitting in her bed. Thinking it might make her uncomfortable, he awkwardly let go of her and stood up next to her. As he did so, he thought he saw disappointment on Lucy's face, but if it ever really was there, it disappeared as soon as he noticed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he suggested, but Lucy forcefully shook her head, closing her eyes at the memories of her nightmare.

"Okay…" he agreed, "Do you want me to let you sleep then? Or I can make you some tea?" Wyatt asked, not really knowing what to do to help her.

Lucy looked at him, debating her options.

"Tea would be nice," she finally said and she started to get out of the bed before Wyatt helped her out of it.

She went to sit quietly at the kitchen stool while Wyatt rummaged through the cupboards, remembering from the night he had come to apologize, where Lucy stocked her mugs and tea.

He put some water to boil and when he looked back at Lucy he saw her all curled up on her chair, rubbing her goose-bumps-covered arms to protect them from the chill of the night's air. Without saying a word, he went to the living room and grabbed the comforter he used to sleep on the couch.

He went back to the kitchen and wrapped it up gently around Lucy's shoulders who jumped slightly in surprise, "Thank you," she whispered with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

A loud whistle coming from the boiler signaled Wyatt that the tea was ready and he poured each of them a mug.

"Want to take this to your room?" he asked and Lucy shook her head.

"I…" she started before looking down at her lap, "I don't want to be alone," she said and looked at Wyatt expectantly.

"Come on, we can drink that on the couch," he said with a wink, before disappearing down the hall with the two mugs, Lucy following closely behind, the dark blue comforter still wrapped around her shoulders.

Lucy plopped down on the couch and opened shyly her good arm, inviting Wyatt in the warmth of her comforter. He hesitated briefly, not knowing if it was right to want to be close to Lucy after the thoughts he had had earlier. But seeing Lucy's pleading look, he had no other choice than to oblige. He sat next to her and handed her her mug before wrapping the comforter around both their shoulders, only their hands weren't covered, allowing them to drink their tea, which they did, in silence.

"I dreamt about him," Lucy said several minutes later and Wyatt tensed, guessing from her fear and her screams who she was referring to.

"I was back in that basement and Flynn went away on a mission. Then, Chuck arrived and he started kissing me, touching me. But that time I wasn't able to escape. He never stopped. And you never came, because you were on other missions with Anna and you had completely forgotten about me," she said continuing her story before sucking in a breath and choking back a sob.

Wyatt rested his tea mug on the console next to the couch before encircling Lucy with his arms; "Nothing is going to happen to you anymore Luce. I'm going to make sure of that. And I can promise you that I am never going to forget about you Lucy Preston. I'm afraid you are stuck with me," Wyatt promised, tightening his hold.

"Thank you, for everything," whispered Lucy as she nudged her head in the crook at the base of Wyatt's neck, much to his surprise. He wasn't about to reject any of Lucy's attention gesture, but he thought she was still scared from everything that happened to her. He took it as a good sign that she was letting him in and trusting him.

They don't know how long they say there in silence, embraced in each other's arms. But what they do know is that the next morning they woke up in the same position. And it had been the best sleep they had in a while.


	18. Reflection

**Hello everyone!**

 **I was glad to see that people wanted me to finish that story. It really inspired me! I wanted to answer you individually, but for some it was impossible, so I'm saying thank you here :)**

 **Here is chapter 18! It's kind of a transition chapter, to make the link with how the story will end, but I still hope you'll appreciate it : )**

 **Have a good read!**

 **Chapter 18: Reflection**

Days passed by and Lucy got better. Still, there was something in her eyes that wasn't like before. Wyatt could see it. She lacked the spark her eyes once held and it broke his heart to know what had caused it to disappear.

Her health improved, the headaches diminishing to a light throb until they completely disappeared, the bruises and her ribs healing. Eventually her cast was removed and Lucy recovered the full use of her arm. She didn't need assistance anymore for tasks as simple as undressing herself, which she really was grateful for. As kind as Wyatt had been with her, she had been impatient to get her independence back. She was tired of having to rely on everyone and was actually afraid that Wyatt would grew annoyed too.

But Wyatt had been the best. He had been staying with her every single day since her return from the hospital. Fortunately, Lucy's mother was still on travel, having extended her stay in Ohio to visit her sister for a couple of weeks. Lucy was only relieved to hear that she'd never have to explain to her mother how and why she had been abducted.

So Wyatt stayed with her for days because she was still scared of being alone. It didn't matter that Flynn and his henchmen had been caught and were currently in jail, she still jumped every time someone approached her a little too suddenly and couldn't sit with her back to the door, afraid that anyone could enter without her noticing.

Wyatt cooked her meals, watched historical movies, held her while she slept, which soon became and unsaid agreement between the two of them. After a couple of nights of nightmares, they both realized that the only way they were getting a good night's sleep was when they were together. So Wyatt moved to Lucy's room and they slept cuddled together.

There was so many things left unsaid between the two of them. Lucy knew that she liked, loved, Wyatt. He had been there for her every single minute and she only felt really safe when he was there. He had seen her in her most vulnerable moments and yet he was still there to take care of her. A person like him, doing things like that for her was something she thought she'd never find. And she knew that Wyatt must have had quite the same feelings. At least she hoped. No friends cuddled together every night or played with each other's hair while watching movies, didn't they?

But still, Lucy was too afraid to tell Wyatt how she felt, afraid that he might still not be over his wife. Afraid to lose his friendship to some awkwardness if she told him. To be honest, it wasn't the only thing that scared her. She was also afraid of letting someone care for her that much. She was afraid of caring for that someone too. What if something happened and Wyatt disappeared like her sister? She knew that Flynn had been stopped but the mothership had yet to be found. Anthony had somehow managed to escape and Lucy lived every day with the fear that he'd start jumping through time again. What if he changed something and Wyatt wasn't there anymore?

She didn't know what she would do if Wyatt disappeared from her life. With no one besides him and Rufus knowing about the real her, she would find herself really alone. She needed him and she hoped that he'd stick by. So she kept her feelings for herself. It was better than not having Wyatt at all.

* * *

Wyatt had spent the last with Lucy, helping her out with everything she needed, making sure that she was safe every single moment. Everyone from Rufus and Anna to Connor Mason himself kept telling him how kind he was to do this for Lucy. Truth to be told, Wyatt was doing this for himself as much as he was doing it for Lucy.

It physically hurt him to imagine Lucy back somewhere where she wouldn't be safe. He hated to leave for too long in fear that she'd disappear again. He knew it wasn't healthy. Lucy was healing and she wanted more and more independence, which was a good thing really, but Wyatt still held some fear that she'd vanish if he wasn't next to her 24/7.

He also really liked to spend time with her. In the couple of weeks since she had returned home, they had fallen in some sort of routine that he loved pretty much. Since Flynn had been arrested, he wasn't really working anymore, agent Christopher having offered him an extended break to take care of Lucy, while she kept covering for Lucy's job at the university.

So they had all the time in the world to spend it together. The first week was hard with Lucy being scared of everything, still in pain and having a lot of nightmares, but she healed. After that they just fell into comfortable habits: Wyatt and Lucy would sleep cuddled together, he'd wake up before her to cook her breakfast, they'd take a late morning walk, the afternoon they'd watch a movie or she'd read a book while he'd play with her hair.

Wyatt had to admit that he loved every single minute of it. And it was making it harder and harder to keep his feeling in check. How much he wanted to tell Lucy that he loved her, and that he never wanted to live apart from her anymore. With her getting better every single day, he feared the moment when he'd have to move out and back to his old apartment. He'd gotten used to being with her all the time and he never wanted it to stop.

Sometimes he thought he saw it too in Lucy's eyes, the unspoken feelings they had for each other. But he still wasn't sure. He didn't want to jeopardize what they had built for his selfish feelings if Lucy didn't feel the same way.

But for now he had other worries: the missing spark in Lucy's eyes. As healthier as she had become, she still missed something. She laughed, she smiled, she told him stories about historical figures they had met, but it wasn't like before. That spark was missing and Wyatt knew he had to get it back. He wouldn't rest until he did.

And he knew exactly what he had to do. He just needed to call Rufus, Anna and agent Christopher.


	19. Spark

**It is so close to being over! I almost wrote entirely chapter 20 and it should be the last one! I hope you enjoy the last words I have to say about this story**

 **Thank you for all the support you've given me so far! It really was motivating!**

 **For those who could be wondering about my other story, New possibilities, I just wanted to tell that I plan on finishing it too, but I'm concentrating on Lost for now. I'll eventually finish it though!**

 **Have a good read!**

* * *

 **Chapter 19: Spark**

"Come on Wyatt, where are we going?" Lucy asked for the hundredth time that day, a bit of impatience tainting her voice. He had woken her up at 6 AM sharp, only telling her that it was a special day and that she needed to get ready for 7 AM, when they'd leave. He had told her to get dressed into comfortable clothes and to take a good breakfast because they had a long day ahead of them. She had obliged, but she had been bugging him ever since to know where the hell they were going. She had never really liked surprises, but she liked them even less ever since her "surprised" encounter with Flynn in New-York all those weeks ago.

"I can't tell you Luce, it will ruin the surprise," he repeated too for the hundredth time.

"I hate surprises Wyatt. I don't feel like I'm in control and I hate not being in control," she argued. Drowning cars and abductions in the streets of New-York were moments where she had lost control and she wanted to stay as far from that as she could.

"Do you trust me Lucy?" he asked simply.

Lucy took a couple of minutes to think. Of course she did. She always had and would always trust him. He had been there for her through everything and if there was one person she knew she could trust, it was Wyatt. She wasn't comfortable with not being in control, but she had to admit that if it was Wyatt who were in control, it was actually someone she could rely on.

"Alright, I'll shut up," and she effectively did, but only until she realized where they were headed. As soon as she spotted the big white letters stating "Mason's industries", she started protesting even more.

"I am not going in there Wyatt," she said crossing her arms in a stubborn manner as he parked the car in his usual spot, "You promised me that Flynn was in jail and that we'd never have to chase him anymore. I am not going back in there at any costs," she added.

"I did. And it's true. Mason actually wants to destroy the machines now that he found the mothership too. But I told him that there was one thing we needed to do first," he said looking at her with his typical charming smile.

Suddenly it dawned on her and she felt tears pool in her eyes, "Really?" she asked, barely able to contain her joy.

"Really," he confirmed and she all but threw herself at him, engulfing him in a bear hug between the two seats of his car.

"Thank you," she whispered, still resting comfortably in his arms.

They eventually got out of the car and entered Mason's industries. Wyatt lead Lucy to agent Christopher who explained her everything as to how they were going to proceed. Lucy, was to stay sit in the mothership, which would serve as their ship since they had recently recovered it and it was way better equipped, while Wyatt and Rufus would go to UCLA and hopefully get Lucy's parents, well Amy's parents, to meet.

It took a lot of convincing to have Lucy agree to stay put in the lifeboat. Not only didn't she want to miss on the chance of getting her sister back, she also hated the fact that she wouldn't be in control. She wouldn't be able to help if anything went wrong or if Wyatt and Rufus failed at having her parents talk to each other. All she could do was sit tight in the mothership and pray.

But eventually all the arguments against her going won. They couldn't risk her coming face to face with her parents. Who knew how she'd react or worse, how they'd react if they one day realized that their daughter had the same face than a stranger they had met years ago?

So no, Lucy couldn't participate in the mission, but she couldn't stay in 2017 either. They wanted her to remember. She wanted to remember too. What if Wyatt and Rufus went back without her and it worked? What if she never remembered losing Amy? Would she still have gone on those other missions or, with no reason to fight for, she'd just given up after being almost killed at the Hindenburg scene?

A small part of her thought it was worth it, to get the chance to not remember what it was like to be held captive in that hell hole for days, Chuck being her only company. But a bigger part knew that it wasn't what she wanted because it also meant that she wouldn't know Wyatt. She wouldn't know the feeling of having someone care for her that much. That she wasn't ready to give up. And she wanted to remember the joy she'd feel if, when, they'd get Amy back.

So yes, Lucy Preston would calmly sit in the mothership while Rufus and Wyatt would try to have Henry Wallace and Carol Preston meet in the library.

* * *

The jump was smooth, nothing like the ones they had experienced in the lifeboat. The mothership was designed so the passengers would feel almost nothing, which had not been the case with the first prototype. No nausea, no dizziness, it was almost as if they hadn't jumped at all. Too bad they had missed on that on all their other missions.

The boys took their time to get out of the machine, making sure Lucy was comfortable, and armed that time. They weren't leaving her by herself with nothing for defense anymore.

Before they left, Lucy gave both Wyatt and Rufus a tight hug, thanking them in advance for what they were doing for her. No matter what, she would forever be grateful to them for bringing her back her dear Amy. Now her family would finally be reunited. Her, Amy and….

"Wyatt!" Lucy screamed at him as he was jumping out of the lifeboat.

She jumped after him and suddenly grabbed Wyatt's arm in an urgent manner, making him look everywhere, scrutinizing the trees surrounding them, thinking she might have seen something dangerous, but when he looked at Lucy all he saw was her face, deadly pale.

"What is it Lucy?" he asked, alarmed.

"I didn't say goodbye…" she whispered.

"What? To who?" he asked still confused.

"My mother, I didn't say goodbye to my mother and now she could pretty well be in a coma like the first time we took the time machine," she explained, "I didn't even say goodbye," she repeated.

"Lucy… I'm so sorry I didn't think about it," Wyatt said beating himself up. He had been so focused on wanting to give Lucy her spark back by getting Amy, that he had forgotten that side of the story. Getting Amy back meant that Henry Wallace would initiate Carol Preston to smoking, which lead to lung cancer…

"It's not your fault, it's me… I was so glad to get Amy back that I didn't even think about saying goodbye to my mom. What kind of daughter am I?" she asked, close to tears.

"Hey, don't blame yourself Lucy, I didn't even let you time to think about it. I just brought you to Mason's industries without telling you first because I wanted to surprise you. I'm so sorry," Wyatt said realizing the mistake he had made. He just wanted to make Lucy feel better. He hoped he had not made everything worst.

"It's not your fault. You wanted to help me and I appreciate it, really. I just…" she trailed off, not knowing what to add. If she could only have said goodbye to her mom. Told her she loved her. The last time they had talked was three days ago over the phone. Her mother had told she was planning on flying back by the end of the week and Lucy had told her they could go to the restaurant to celebrate her coming back. The phone call had ended quickly when Lucy's doorbell and rung and she had hung up without telling her mother she loved her. And now it was too late.

"It might not be too late Lucy," Wyatt said as if he was reading her mind, "Maybe we can change that too? Maybe give her some advice to never start smoking?" he tried, hoping it would make Lucy feel better and then second guessing his decision. He didn't want to give her fake hopes.

"Maybe you're right," Lucy said with a sigh, trying to suppress her tears.

"Hey, we're going to try everything we can to save both your mother and sister. I just wish we could come back. Rufus, is that really impossible to go back, let Lucy talk to her mother, and then come back here?" Wyatt asked, already knowing the answer.

"You know we can't Wyatt," Rufus started, clearly sorry he couldn't help Lucy, "The jumps can't be specific enough in time for us to not risk running into ourselves. I can't have us land at a specific time. Plus, we have a really thin margin here if we want to have the time to have Lucy's parents meet. It's just… too risky"

Lucy simply nodded, understanding what Rufus was saying. It's not like she didn't know it. Still, a tiny bit of her had started to hope that maybe it wasn't too late when Wyatt had asked the question to Rufus. Now all she had to do was hope that it could work. That some advice given by a random man crossed on the streets in their college years would stop both her parents from starting to smoke.

"Lucy, I promise you! We'll do anything we can," Wyatt sworn to her while Rufus nodded, giving her his parole too.

"Thank you," Lucy said with in her eyes, "I… hum… thank you," she said again before going back in the mothership to wait patiently as her friends were taking her future into their hands.


	20. The End

**Oh my god! I'm so sorry to everyone who's been following that story! I know that I've been the worst updater ever! I was away all summer and didn't get the chance to work on the last chapter and when I finally did, I was stuck with writer's block. But I kept my promise and here it is, the final part to that 20 chapters story. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **Chapter 20: The End**

It wasn't easy but eventually they did it. Henry Wallace and Carol Preston met in that library where they were supposed to, just like Lucy had told her friends about from her memories. It was a story her mother loved to tell both her daughters when they were younger and Lucy knew it by heart. She had just never imagined just how handy it could be.

Wyatt had even managed to throw, rather awkwardly if he was honest, some advice about smoking. He had made that huge scene outside the library where he was yelling at Rufus for "smoking", telling how he had just learned his grandfather was going to die of cancer and the doctor had told him it was because of all the cigarettes. He knew Lucy's parents had heard him because of the uncomfortable look he had seen in their eyes when they made eye contact. He just hoped they would remember that day when they'd ever be tempted to light their first cigarette.

And now all they needed to do was go back to 2017 and pray; pray that Amy would be there, along with Lucy's mom in perfect health.

It had to work. Lucy deserved it. After everything Flynn had taken from her, she deserved as much. Wyatt would give anything to see her smile like before. And he had almost done it, everything he could think of.

"Do you think it worked?" Lucy asked as she was nervously tugging at her coat hem, eyes on her lap as Wyatt buckled her inn for the trip back home in the mothership.

Wyatt took her fidgeting hand in his, "I don't know, but what I do know is that we've done everything we could possibly think of. And I sincerely hope that it did work," he said and they both fell into silence afterwards, their hearts beating wildly in their chests.

"Are you all set?" Rufus asked from his seat, "We'd be ready to jump,"

Wyatt looked at Lucy for confirmation. She took a deep breath and nodded and just like that they were jumping back.

When the mothership landed Lucy didn't move. Her ears were ringing and her heart was about to jump out of her chest. She didn't have the courage to unbuckle herself and open the door. She didn't want to look into the sorry eyes of agent Christopher as she'd tell her it didn't work, that Amy was still gone. She didn't know what she would do if her last chance at getting her sister back didn't work.

But she didn't have to ponder that really long because suddenly the door was forced open by two agents from homeland security and agent Christopher appeared from behind them, looking simply pissed.

"Would one of you tell me where the hell you have gone with that thing?" she asked not calmly at all.

The three colleagues look at each other, all thinking the same thing; if agent Christopher didn't know where they were… did it mean that they never needed to retrieve Amy in that timeline?

"You don't… you… Wyatt… does it mean…" Lucy stuttered eyes shining with unshed tears at the hope those words carried.

"I need an answer now and it better be good or I'll have to arrest all of you!" Christopher stated in a harsh manner.

"Does… hum… does Lucy have a sister agent Christopher?" Wyatt asked taking her hand in his as they waited for the answer.

"What is your sister doing in that mess Lucy?" the agent asked.

"That doesn't answer my question. With all due respect Ma'am, we really need to know if Lucy has a sister," Wyatt repeated. He knew it. They had done it! It was clear! Otherwise their supervisor would know why they were gone. Still, he knew that Lucy needed to hear the words to be completely reassured.

"Yes of course she does! But that doesn't answer my question master sergeant! Where were you with the mothership?" she repeated giving them a stern look. However, she was completely thrown aback when Lucy all but threw herself into her arms.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," she repeated through sobs, while giving the agent one of her famous bone crushing hugs.

"Can anyone explain me what is going on?" she asked when Lucy retreated back, understanding that since the timelines had been switched again, her supervisor was completely clueless.

"We went to get Lucy's sister back Ma'am," Wyatt simply explained, not being able to say more, feeling himself quite moved by the events.

"You went what?" she asked.

"In the other timeline, Lucy's sister had disappeared after our first mission. After we arrested Flynn, you gave us permission to get her back before we destroyed the machines… Apart from Lucy's sister not having disappeared, does the rest seem accurate?" he suddenly wondered if the change back to the original timeline had changed something in the course of the most recent events.

"No… hum… we were indeed about to destroy both machines before you stole them for no apparent reason, but now I better understand…In that case you are free to go, Lucy you probably have some catching up to do," the agent said, giving them her blessing.

It took minutes before she finally moved, her face beaming in excitement, but also dreading the moment when she'd learned what had happened with her mother.

When they arrived at her home, it looked like nothing had changed. The flowers she had been planting the day before with Wyatt were still laying out in the grass, the project not finished yet, dirt mangling with the grass and her small shovel abandoned next to the garden. Her car was in the same spot it used to be, not perfectly aligned as usual, something Wyatt loved to mock her about. The only clue there was that her life had changed was the red car parked next to hers. Amy's car, back where it belonged. But her mother's car was nowhere to be seen.

With shaking hands Lucy unbuckled herself and with legs as shaky as her hands were, she walked down the driveway and up the three steps in front of the porch. She took out her keys and turned them in the lock before taking a big breath. Here it was, the moment she had been waiting for for months.

"Hey Lucy! Where have you been? I woke up and you were already gone!" said a girl Wyatt had no trouble recognizing, as soon as the door opened. Her picture had been dangling on his friend's neck for weeks now. He could have spotted the girl anywhere. Amy was home.

Lucy, in tears, simply threw herself at her sister, not caring that Amy might find this horribly odd.

But instead, Amy didn't seem as confused as Wyatt would have expected her to be, instead she looked at him and mouthed silently, "Bad dreams again about that Flynn guy?"

Caught off guard, Wyatt nodded, wondering how in the world could that woman know about Flynn and about Lucy being abducted weeks ago, while she herself was nowhere to be seen, erased from history. Still, it was a good covered story and he preferred to use it. Amy might have seemed to know about Flynn, but he wasn't willing to guess that she knew about time travel too. Abduction cover seemed better than the vanished sister back from a giant time traveling warm hole.

"Hey Luce don't cry, everything is alright," said Amy, hushing her big sister's cries and stroking her hair.

Lucy's tears finally slowed down and she wiped her tears furiously, ashamed at her sudden outburst, before deciding that she had perfectly the right to break down if she wanted. She had been kidnapped, beaten, lied to. She had lost her sister and thought her friends had abandoned her. Now she was back home, with her friends taking care of her every single minute of the day. Her physical pain was officially gone and the emotional one had just improved by a thousand times with Amy's return. So yes, she could let out some tears of joy if she wanted to.

"Where is mom?" Lucy asked, knowing it was the last thing in her life she needed to be completely at piece.

"Oh Lucy you don't remember that she's gone?" her sister asked with concern written all over her face and Wyatt's heart sank. He really thought he could do it. Spare Lucy the pain of losing her mother to that damn lung cancer.

"Gone?" Lucy repeated with dread.

"Yes, Ohio, you know? To visit her friend? She's coming back in a couple of days," Amy added, giving her sister a strange look.

"Ohio?" Lucy repeated, but this time with unmasked joy. Her mother wasn't dead! And she wasn't sick either apparently.

"Lucy, is it one of those time travel alternative timelines again?" Amy asked with real concern and both Wyatt and Lucy's eyes sported bewildered expressions at the question. Was Amy really asking them about time travel? How did she know about that?

"What? What did you say?" Wyatt asked.

"Oh come on guys, let's not pretend like you don't know what I'm talking about, Lucy told me about time travel after her second mission," Amy said throwing her hands in the air.

"How, what, I mean," Lucy stuttered, not able to align enough words to formulate a real sentence.

"Remember Luce, you told me about time travel. And you told me about that Flynn guy abducting you. You told me everything Lucy, please don't freak out like that. You know I'd rather die than tell a single soul, breaking my promise," Amy said, looking directly into her big sister's eyes.

That was the last thing Wyatt had been expecting, the really last. Still, he knew he had to take matter in his hands, because clearly Lucy was too shocked by the whole situation to do or say anything.

"Amy… I don't know how to say this but, in the timeline we come from hum, man that feels weird," he began awkwardly before taking a huge breath and letting everything out, "In the original timeline, you had been erased from history after our first mission. Something about a girl who survived and then your father married her instead. It's been weeks since you disappeared like that. We were just on our last mission to get you back," Wyatt explained.

"What?" Amy cried out, "How is that even possible? How could I have been gone while I remember everything? I know everything about all your missions! I remember how Lucy told me about seeing Lincoln get killed, how you guys went to Nazi Germany where she freaked out and you met Ian Fleming, how she was abducted, how I supported you, how you told me how much you love her, how I pushed you to admit your feelings after you found her in that forest! I remember everything!"

She continued rambling on but Wyatt and Lucy had stopped listening a while ago, both stuck on one particular sentence: "How you told me how much you love her"

"You, hum, the other Wyatt loved me?" Lucy asked with such uncertainty that Wyatt's heart broke.

"Of course he loves you Luce, don't you Wyatt?" Amy asked, turning to Wyatt for confirmation, but he wasn't saying anything and he wasn't budging either.

"Wyatt?" Amy asked, suddenly fear creeping inside her head. Stupid timeline changes! She was tired of it! Did it really never happen for her sister? Everything she had been talking about? Did Wyatt not love her in that new timeline? How was it possible after everything he had done for Lucy after she was kidnapped!

"I… I do love you Lucy," he said so softly that Lucy almost didn't hear.

"You… you… for real?" She was going through so many emotions at the same time that night that she felt like she was in some sort of dream and that she'd wake up back in that dark basement with Flynn's men still keeping her prisoner. She couldn't believe that what was happening was actually real. Was it really possible that the feelings she had been having for Wyatt were reciprocated? That he loved her too?

"Yes, I love you Lucy Preston,"

And those words were the last thing she needed to lock her lips with his, showing him just how much she actually loved him too.

Seconds, or minutes, later when Amy cleared her throat to signal them that she was still there, witness to Wyatt and Lucy's demonstration of love, Lucy realized that she had finally everything she ever dreamed of. Yes, she had gone through some pretty damaging events, but she knew they had only made her stronger. No matter what fate was bringing her next, she was ready. With Wyatt and Amy by her side, she knew she could face anything.

END

* * *

 **Thank you so much to everyone who's been reading me from the beginning! It took me almost a year from the moment I started writing to today, my last update. I'm really proud of myself for finishing that story and making it what it was. I hope you'll continue to read my work; I still have some ideas for the future. Thank you again to everyone who reviewed, it's because of you that I had the motivation to finish this story!**


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